Web of Lies
by Lady Genjutsu
Summary: Nash is a chronic liar, and though he considers it to be a requirement as a spy, he suffers the consequences when it causes trouble at Budehuc, and Chris begins to distrust him. (Complete)
1. Charming the Ladies

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing Suikoden.  
  
A/N: I'd been contemplating this fic for months and months, but I never had the time write it down and make it work. Anyway, now that I've finally got it down, I don't want a bunch of reviews/e-mails stating "But Nash and Sierra are married!!!!!" I am well aware that it is a likely possibility that Nash is married to Sierra. But it still isn't official. It's not even official that he is married.  
  
The things that happen in this fic are based on theories and is not necessarily canon. In fact, this fic totally contradicts my other fic "Destiny of Four". Technically however, the take on this fic should be theoretically possible for the most part... Just keep in mind that I'm just having fun with the idea of what goes on between Nash and other people in the castle, and I'm not taking any of it too seriously.

* * *

Chapter One – Charming the Ladies  
  
"I'm not entirely sure why you're still here."  
  
Nash pushed himself from the wall and caught up to the woman who had just emerged from door he had standing beside. He walked beside her, knowing that even though the stern knight had not looked at him, her comment had been directed towards him.  
  
"Why, whatever do you mean, Chris?"  
  
"I mean this new army, the Fire Bringer, is probably going to be fighting against the Harmonian army. Having admitted to being bishop Sasarai's spy, isn't it rather dangerous for you to be in the headquarters of the Fire Bringer?" She continued to speak hastily, as though talking faster would make the man by her side disappear.  
  
"Ah, but Chris, you one of the few people at this castle who knows that about me."  
  
"And since I'm one of the leaders of this army, do you really think I won't tell anyone?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
He shrugged. "Because you find me alluring, charismatic, irresistible-"  
  
Chris shot him a death glare.  
  
"-and Salome, your tactician, thinks I'm okay, and you trust his judgement," he added hurriedly.  
  
The glare continued for a moment longer, and it was evident that she was struggling to decide if she should lash out at him for his sarcasm, or ignore it. She ended up choosing the latter option as they began to ascend the stairs of the castle.  
  
"I haven't brought you up in the meeting today in hopes that you would have the intelligence to clear out of here on you own. I may trust Salome, but I don't trust you. I don't want you snooping around the castle and making trouble. I'd rather you left."  
  
"I don't believe that."  
  
"I suggest you disappear from here before you come to believe the hard way." She was still refusing to look at him.  
  
"Is that any way to treat someone who has stuck it out with you while you were traveling through the grasslands, helping you find your father?"  
  
Her expression hardened. "You never intended to help me find my father. You were just using that as an excuse to find the Flame Champion yourself."  
  
" 'Use' is a harsh word, Chris... We both had the same goal in the end."  
  
"Why do you insist on staying? To spy on us before telling bishop Sasarai as much as you can find out about our plans?"  
  
At this point, the blond Harmonian stepped quickly up a couple of steps and cut her off at the top stair, forcing her to stop walking. He stared down at her, and Chris finally met his gaze. She stared defiantly back up at him, as though daring him to push her further.  
  
However, he simply shook his head. "Chris, I know there have been a lot of conflicts with the Harmonian army recently, but that doesn't mean that there's going to be an all-out war between our countries. I already told you that bishop Sasarai suspects there is more to this conflict than what meets the eye, and you must admit that there have been some pretty suspicious things going on within the Grasslands and Zexen that have still gone unexplained..."  
  
"What are you getting at, Nash?"  
  
"There is another force behind all of this conflict that hasn't yet been identified. I can't help bishop Sasarai by spying on the Fire Bringer, that's not why I'm here. But I think you know that. My job is to get to the bottom of this mess, and I can't do that unless I'm in the thick of things. And besides," he added with a roguish smile, "I've come to enjoy working with you, Chris."  
  
Chris did not respond, but Nash stepped aside. After staring at him a moment longer, she continued to the top of the steps and down the hallway. He followed her, and he noticed the increasing look of annoyance on her features, clearly wanting to be left alone. However, Nash was not finished speaking with her.  
  
"What are the Fire Bringer's plans now?" he asked.  
  
Chris sighed, but apparently figured it would be easier to just let him know whatever he wanted, for she did not hesitate to answer. "There seems to be some sort of disturbance near the Great Hollow, and one of Lucia's men, Jimba, is still missing. We have heard a rumour that he was seen near the Great Hollow. We've also heard another rumour that one of the bishops is missing."  
  
Nash put a hand under his chin in thought. "So you're thinking this disturbance has something to do with a True Rune? And that it's somehow connected to Jimba's and the bishop's disappearance?"  
  
Chris nodded. "The other knights and I are going to investigate as soon as preparations are complete."  
  
"And when will preparations be complete?"  
  
"By tomorrow morning."  
  
"Can I tag along?"  
  
They had reached her door as Chris shook her head. "Most definitely not. The knights are more than enough to take along on this expedition. You want to prove yourself trustworthy to me, stick close to these quarters and help out around the castle."  
  
Nash knew her reason for keeping him in the castle was a rather feeble one, and although he was dying to argue with her reasoning, her stony and resolute glare left no doubt in his mind that she considered the matter to be closed.  
  
"I guess I don't need to tell you to stay alert." Nash sighed slightly with resignation.  
  
Chris opened the door but paused a moment longer. "If you make any trouble for us, you'll have me to answer to."  
  
"Now Chris, when have I ever caused trouble for you?"  
  
Chris eyed him wearily for another moment before closing the door without answering, leaving him standing in the hallway alone.  
  
Nash continued to rub his chin in thought. She had been so much more formal with him since they had come to Budehuc castle to form the Fire Bringer. It would seem she felt she had to assume more authority now that she was back in the company of her knights and she was a leader of this new army.  
  
It also appeared that Chris would obviously not tolerate his presence on the mission, and this had created quite an obstacle for Nash. He needed to find some reliable information for Sasarai, and soon. Nash knew it had been some time since he'd sent word to him, and he doubted the priest's patience would last until Chris and her men returned.  
  
Suddenly he heard a sound behind him and he turned around to find a boy in a blue coat and a grey cap peering at him from around the corner. He then came walking out towards him, feverishly scribbling something into a little notebook.  
  
The kid began speaking without taking his pen from the notepad.  
  
"Now tell me, why exactly is it that the Lady Chris doesn't want you in this castle?"  
  
"Who are you?" Nash asked, slightly irritated that the boy had been eavesdropping on his conversation with Chris.  
  
"I'm Kidd, the detective. Now, Mr. Nash, was it? Why wouldn't you be welcome in the castle? Are you an old foe? An old unwanted acquaintance? An old boyfriend???"  
  
Nash raised an eyebrow, and released a small chuckle. "I'm sure Chris would love that last one. At any rate kid, you're going to get yourself into a hell of a mess, sticking your nose into other people's business like that."  
  
Kidd tapped his pen on the notepad, staring down at his writings before responding to Nash's comment. "I'm responsible for finding out anything I can about the residents at this castle, for everyone's safety."  
  
"Safety?"  
  
Kidd ignored him and continued. "Now, I've already been consulting with a couple of the other residents in this castle, who seem to recognize you... Miss Jeane says you helped liberate Greenhill during the Dunan Unification War."  
  
Nash blinked, a little surprised to hear the runesage was somewhere within the castle premises. "Jeane?"  
  
"But my other sources tell me that you were not in the Dunan army... Is this true?"  
  
"Such meddling isn't good for your health, boy," Nash replied, narrowing his eyes at him.  
  
"So it is true!" Kidd continued, scribbling even more into his little notebook. "Shady... Very shady indeed..." That said, the boy detective flipped his notebook shut and took off down the stairs.  
  
Nash stared after him, but then just shook his head. He had more important things to worry about than some snooping kid. He had to figure out a way to find out what was going on at the Great Hollow. There was nothing else to do but to sneak out of the castle and get a head start on Chris and the knights. After all, who would notice that he was gone?  
  
As Nash was descended the stairs of the castle and was met by a blonde- haired girl in oversized armour. She smiled widely. "Hello there, sir... Are you Nash Clovis, sir?"  
  
Nash nodded absently at the girl, his mind still formulating a plan to sneak out of the castle that night.  
  
"Nice to meet you. I'm Cecile, the Garrison Commander..."  
  
"Indeed?" Nash said, still not paying the girl much interest.  
  
"Yes, and I've just come to inform you that the Fire Bringer has made an alphabetical list of all our accomplices and each shall take turn guarding the castle at night. You're last name is Clovis, so you're on the first group of people taking shifts to guard the castle tonight."  
  
Suddenly he became all ears. "What?"  
  
"Yep," Cecile nodded. "Another one of Thomas' great ideas! Everyone living in the castle is a Fire Bringer supporter, and by the rules established in the first meeting today, everyone is responsible for defending and supporting this castle in any way they can."  
  
"Just great... Can't you get someone to fill in for me tonight?"  
  
Cecile frowned. "As a member of the Fire Bringer, this castle should be your priority! You should be honoured to be in the first group to take guard! You –"  
  
"Alright already!" Nash shook his head. "What time?"  
  
"Your shift is five hours and you start at 1:30 in the morning."  
  
"Perfect," Nash rubbed his hand over his eyes.  
  
With a curt nod, Cecile turned and marched back out of the castle back to her post at the gates.  
  
Nash sighed, and headed for the tavern. This was a problem. He should have said his last name was Zovis or something. Now he had to lose precious time guarding this hunk of rubble when he could be getting a head start on Chris' investigation team. He sighed. He'd just have to leave tomorrow morning.  
  
As soon as he entered the tavern, a tall strange man with a white mask greeted him.  
  
"Ahh, perfect! You have the mark of an actor on you!"  
  
"What?"  
  
The masked man bowed. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Nadir, the play director here at Budehuc castle. Congratulations, you've just earned yourself a leading role in my next play!"  
  
"No thanks," Nash muttered. He was developing a dull headache. "I just came in for a drink."  
  
"But I insist! You'll be perfect for the part! And besides, have you not heard about the set of rules made by the Fire Bringer leaders? As a member, you must help this castle any way you can! This play will be great for both the morale of the troops and for raising money."  
  
"But really, I-"  
  
Nadir shoved a script into Nash's hands. "It's a docudrama about vampires."  
  
"Just perfect..."  
  
"Read through it, the first rehearsal is tomorrow morning. I'll announce who's playing who then."  
  
"I thought you said I would be playing the leading role?"  
  
"Well, there's more than one leading role..." Nadir replied hurriedly.  
  
"But-"  
  
"There now, thank you very much for your co-operation. I'll be on my way now." The masked man left the tavern, leaving Nash with a script in his hand and an exasperated expression on his face.  
  
Nash sat at the bar, propped his elbow up on the countertop, and rested his chin in his hand. There was no way he could get out of this castle without looking suspicious now... He was trapped. Trapped in this God forsaken castle.  
  
Late that night, Nash was walking out by the lake, just before his shift guarding the castle started. He racked his brain for a solution, but realized that he'd just have to wait until Chris' group returned and hope that the told him what was going on. He let out a sigh of resignation.  
  
"Well, if it isn't Nash Latjke."  
  
Nash spun around to see the silhouette of a woman he hadn't seen in fifteen years - Sierra Mikain. As she stepped into the moonlight, he saw she had not changed in the least; she still had the face of a young woman, with shoulder length silver hair and haunting crimson eyes. Of course it only made sense that she looked the same. She was a vampire, after all.  
  
Nash had not been expecting this encounter at all, but he addressed her as though he had only just seen her the previous day. "I don't go by that surname anymore."  
  
"My mistake. Then again, it has been quite a while."  
  
"It has."  
  
"You don't look that surprised to see me."  
  
"You'll find I'm not surprised at much anymore."  
  
"...You don't look as old as I thought you would by now."  
  
Nash allowed himself to smirk slightly. "I'll take that as a compliment."  
  
There was a long, tense moment of silence. The two had had worked together for a brief period of time a little before the Dunan Unification War, but their partnership had ended abruptly when Sierra departed for Tinto without telling him. Although the two had argued constantly, they had somehow formed an unspoken friendship. However, Sierra had misled him on his journey for her own purposes, and then for some mysterious reason, disappeared. He had not seen her since.  
  
Nash finally broke the silence. "So are you going to tell me why you're here?"  
  
"I was going to ask you the same question. I never expected to find you in this run down castle."  
  
"I have my reasons. Why were you looking for me?"  
  
Sierra turned towards the lake. "Who said I was?"  
  
"You can't tell me you just randomly decided to visit this hole of a castle," Nash scoffed.  
  
"I assure you, I have no business with you. I just happen to be revisiting an old friend's castle. It is disappointing to see that he never had any heirs to inherit this land..." She turned and looked at the shabby castle, which looked nothing short of eerie in the foggy moonlight.  
  
"Don't tell me this castle was originally owned by another one of your ghoulish friends," Nash replied, suppressing the urge to shudder.  
  
"Alas, he was not. One of the few humans I befriended during that period of my life. I don't know what became of him, but it pains me to see the castle is being run by a mere mortal boy."  
  
"So you've been skulking about here for a while. I should have known. I thought I sensed deceit and an undiluted arrogance in the air when I first arrived here," Nash muttered.  
  
Sierra glared at him. "You haven't changed at all. You're still the sarcastic, foolish mortal you were when I first met you."  
  
"And you're still the snooty old hag I loved to hate."  
  
"I expect next I see you, you'll be toothless, wrinkled and still chasing after women's skirts."  
  
"Maybe, but I sure as hell won't be chasing yours."  
  
"You're disgusting."  
  
"You're running out of suitably stinging insults."  
  
"Better than resorting to your tactics and hitting below the belt."  
  
"Below the belt is where all the fun is."  
  
The vampire turned from him. "Goodbye Nash. It would have been better to postpone this reunion indefinitely."  
  
"Wait."  
  
Sierra stopped.  
  
Nash had a rush of ideas and a plan formed his mind in an instant. "Where are you going?"  
  
"You don't care."  
  
"I need your help."  
  
To his surprise, the vampire chuckled. "You fool. I haven't the slightest idea what it is you want, but you will not get it from me."  
  
"Relax, I'm not about to ask sexual favours of an old hag like you."  
  
She spun around on him, fangs bared and eyes flaring. "I could kill you right now!"  
  
"But you won't. It's been over fifteen years Seirra, but you still can't fool me."  
  
"Push me too hard, and you'll realize too late just how foolish you are!"  
  
"Look, can you at least hear me out?"  
  
Sierra raised an eyebrow, but did not respond.  
  
"The truth is, I'm here by bishop Sasarai's command to find out the real cause for all of the conflict that has been occurring between Zexen and the Grasslands. Harmonia is trying to find the True Runes, but there is another unidentified force interfering with both Harmonia and the Grasslands. My investigations have led me here, and I am currently assisting an army known as the Fire Bringer, led by Chris, Geddoe and Hugo.  
  
"The problem is, I've hit a snag and one of the leaders of the Fire Bringer... Well, she doesn't entirely trust me."  
  
"I can't say I blame her," commented Seirra.  
  
Nash continued without responding to her comment. "The bottom line is, something big is going on near the Great Hollow... But I'm being watched to closely right now to find out myself. I need to gain trust around here, and I can't do that if I'm snooping around where I'm not wanted..."  
  
"So what you're asking is if I'll do the snooping for you? If you're with the Fire Bringer, aren't you going to find out eventually anyway?"  
  
"Sierra, I'm a spy, I need to stay three steps ahead of this lot of rebels at all times."  
  
"Give me one good reason why I should help you."  
  
The Harmonian shrugged. "Simple. Karma. You dragged me all over this forsaken planet making me believe you could help me, when really you were just using me to get revenge on one of your old vampy boyfriends. I almost got killed countless times, and then you just left me out to dry with absolutely nothing to go on!"  
  
"This is hardly sending me on the guilt trip you're going for."  
  
"Sierra, come on! Just this one favour for an old acquaintance..."  
  
Sierra turned back towards the lake, and was silent for a long moment. Nash held his breath, waiting for her decision.  
  
Finally, the vampire sighed. "If there is a disturbance within the runes, then I suppose it shouldn't be left up to mere mortals to rectify it. I'll go and find out what I can..." she turned back to Nash with fire in her eyes. "Don't you dare mistake my help as a favour to you. As a rune- bearer, I'm partially responsible for order in this world. In truth, I visited this castle just to see what the Fire Bringer is about. I'm not ready for this world to crumble apart just yet."  
  
"Thank y-"  
  
"Don't thank me, I already told you that I'm not doing this for you."  
  
Nash resisted the temptation to flash one of his purposely-irritating smirks. "Of course. When can I expect your return with the report?"  
  
"Tomorrow night."  
  
"Just one day? Impressive. No doubt you'll be using some demonic power to hasten your travels." He couldn't resist taking one more jab at here.  
  
"You're truly a sad, pathetic, idiotic bastard."  
  
"I am indeed many things, but at least I'm not a hag."  
  
With a noise that could be likened to a snarl, Sierra turned from him, and in an instant she had vanished among the shadows.  
  
Nash smiled to himself as he headed off to the gates for his shift. Not only had he convinced Chris to let him join the Fire Bringer, but he had gotten Sierra, whom he hadn't even heard from in fifteen years, to do his dirty work for him. It seemed he still had a knack for charming the ladies.

* * *

A/N: I usually write the entire story out before I even post the first chapter, but it's been so long since I've posted anything that I just wanted to get this up. I definitely have a plan for this story, but I may be making changes to this chapter depending on if anything changes. Not that it's really heavy on plot, it's more of one those 'behind the scene' fics. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, leave a review to let me know! . 


	2. Lies Spread

Chapter Two – Lies Spread  
  
Nash had no idea what time it was, but he had had enough of guarding this hole of a castle. He hadn't heard so much as a hoot from an owl since his shift started, and he was incredibly tired and grumpy from being made to stand there while he had more important things to do. Like sleep.  
  
For the last half hour, his attention had been focused on the castle. There was no sign of Cecile. Nash wondered how much trouble he'd get into if he skived off the last bit of his shift.  
  
He began walking towards the castle, having convinced himself that no one would make an issue out of it, except Chris.  
  
But she wasn't going to find out.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
Nash stopped in his tracks as Chris came walking towards him, guiding her horse by the reins. Her face was a mask of suspicion.  
  
Why was it that not one thing had gone right since he came to this accursed castle?  
  
Nash racked brain for an excuse, but his usually impeccable wit had been dulled slightly by his sleep-deprived brain. "You know Chris, you're much more lovely when you aren't scowling like that."  
  
"You were leaving the gates unguarded on your shift!" Chris narrowed her eyes at him accusingly.  
  
He hadn't expected his cheesy charm to work on her, especially this early in the morning, but at least it had stalled for enough time to make up a lie.  
  
"I was not! I was going to see why Cecile hasn't come yet... I've been sitting out here for over five hours, she was supposed to take over at 6:30 but she never came."  
  
"That's a lie."  
  
"It's the truth!"  
  
"Nash, it's only 5:30."  
  
"... My mistake."  
  
Chris continued to glare at him for a full minute without speaking.  
  
Nash finally sighed. "Look Chris, I'm sorry but there just doesn't seem to be any point to standing guard here all night. No one would find this lump of rubble even if they were looking for it, it's out in the middle of nowhere!"  
  
"Don't be so sure of yourself," Chris quipped. "Master Thomas has already had problems with soldiers invading the land."  
  
"Those were soldiers from Zexen! We're on the same side now, are we not?"  
  
"That's not the point!" Chris exclaimed, losing her patience. "Someone has to be alert at all times to fight off any evil beasts that may find their way here!"  
  
"I've been standing here for over four hours and I haven't had to fight off anything more than copious amounts of boredom!"  
  
He could have sworn he saw her eye twitch.  
  
Nash decided it was time to try and change the topic. "Are you leaving now?"  
  
"Yes. We expect to return from the investigation within a couple days, possibly sooner with any luck."  
  
"Are you sure you couldn't use my help on this expedition?"  
  
He saw her clench her teeth. "Quite. Why do you want to come so badly anyway?"  
  
"I need to send word to..." Nash's speech faltered. It would not be wise to tell Chris about his frequent contact with Sasarai at this point, considering how she had been accusing him of spying on the Fire Bringer to hand Harmonia information as weapons. "...to my missus."  
  
The good ol' "missus" alibi had never failed him yet.  
  
Until now.  
  
"I'm not sure how that has anything to do with the mission," Chris replied suspiciously.  
  
Nash was quickly forming a story in his mind. "Well, you see-"  
  
"Lady Chris, all preparations are complete!" Percival's voice called, interrupting Nash's explanation.  
  
"Save it," Chris said to Nash as she mounted her white mare. "You're staying here, and that's final."  
  
Percival rode up to her on his horse, followed by the other four knights. They all seemed to disregard Nash, save for Borus, who was glowering with an expression of unreserved dislike that he seemed to reserve just for him.  
  
Chris looked down at him from her horse. "Geddoe and Hugo are remaining here to gather more information and help rebuild the castle. I want you to help them in any way you can, and I hope for your sake that this display of irresponsibility will not be repeated while tending to your other duties here. You are expected to treat _everyone_ here with respect and courtesy, or you can expect to be thrown out of here when I get back."  
  
"Nothing like facing an ultimatum first thing in the morning to get a man's morale up," Nash replied, not bothering in the least to hide his sarcasm. Then, seeing Chris' displeased face, he flashed a smile and added, "You have my word, I will be an especially good boy, and just for you."  
  
She glared at him for a moment longer, then set off to the plains, her five knights following without a word, except for Borus, who as he passed muttered "ruffian!" out the corner of his mouth.  
  
Nash's confrontation with Chris did not deter him from leaving his post early.  
  
The Harmonian entered the castle and made his way slowly and quietly towards his room. His head was pounding, and he wanted so badly to fall face first on his pillow and become dead to the world.  
  
"Mr. Nash Clovis, isn't it?"  
  
Nash turned around to see that a boy with light hair, freckles and a large pair of goofy glasses was approaching him.  
  
He just wanted to get to bed. "No, you must be mistaken."  
  
"But I saw you being chided by lady Chris this morning. You must be!"  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
The boy smiled brightly. "My name is Arthur. I'm the author of the Budehuc Times!"  
  
"What is that?"  
  
The boy's smile drooped. "It's the castle newspaper. Surely you've heard of it!"  
  
"No. Why are you up so early?"  
  
"Because I knew you were on duty this morning and I wanted to write a news story about you," he replied, sounding important.  
  
"No."  
  
"Please, this won't take long, I just want to ask you a few questions!"  
  
"Look, I've already had a kid poking his nose into my business –"  
  
Arthur cut him off, scowling. "It's that detective, Kidd. He has no right to be poking into other people's business, keeping files on everyone like that."  
  
"And you do?"  
  
"I write for a good honest newspaper though, so it's different!"  
  
Before Nash could protest or retreat, the boy began bombarding him with questions.  
  
"Now, as I understand it from several sources, you are a married man?"  
  
Nash was slightly startled at this question. "What?"  
  
"I happened to overhear the conversation between you and Chris. You distinctly said something about having a 'missus'."  
  
What was it with eavesdropping kids in this place? "Go away."  
  
Arthur persevered. "An eyewitness saw you with a lovely young lady by the lake late last night. Is she your wife?"  
  
The very idea caused Nash's eye to twitch. "No."  
  
"Then who was she?"  
  
"She's just an old friend."  
  
Arthur squinted at him suspiciously. "Is that so?" He flipped open a notebook and scribbled something down. "Thank you, that will be all." The boy took off up the stairs.  
  
He had just opened the door of his room when he saw Nadir turn the corner and see him.  
  
"Oh, good! You're up! I'm waking the others, we're going to start rehearsal in twenty minutes!"  
  
Nash was sure he couldn't have felt more horrified than if a banshee from hell had come howling down the hallway rather then the quirky masked man. In fact, he was quite certain he would have preferred the banshee. However, Nash closed his door and turned to face Nadir. "...Excellent. We'll have an early start and an early finish."  
  
"Oh, but we'll be rehearsing right into the afternoon, with the first performance being tonight and everything," Nadir replied all too jovially.  
  
Just then Nash very much desired to rip the bizarre mask from the man's face and punch him in the nose.  
  
"Right..." Nash exclaimed with an apparent lack of enthusiasm.  
  
But Nadir paid no notice. "Superb. Go and wait in the tavern, we'll get started shortly!"  
  
As Nash gloomily made his way towards the tavern, he wondered if it were possible to drink himself dead in the twenty minutes it would take for Nadir to gather the rest.  
  
Nash's plan to drown himself in alcohol went up in flames when the barkeeper, Anne, refused to lend a hand in the suicide. As a result, he soon found himself standing on stage with several other of Nadir's victims. Sergeant Joe, Thomas, Ace, Queen, Jacques, and Geddoe all looked as tired and as unenthusiastic as Nash felt.  
  
"Now, I trust you all had a chance to review the script?" Nadir asked with a degree of cheerfulness that was disgusting for so early in the morning. Nash bet that behind that mask he had a big goofy grin on his face. It made him resent the man all the more.  
  
No one replied to Nadir's question. The man looked around expectantly.  
  
Interpreting the sleepy silence for the best, Nadir clapped his gloved hands together excitedly. "Very well then! Let's begin rehearsing, shall we?"  
  
There was a non-committal grunt from the people on stage.  
  
Nadir flipped open his copy of the script. "Now, as you know from the script, this play will be a re-enactment of Neclord's fall during the Dunan Unification War."  
  
Nash felt a growing dread rise within him. Did this mean...? He opened his copy of the script and sure enough, Sierra was listed under the characters to be portrayed. Just great.  
  
"Now, first I'll assign parts and then –"  
  
But Nash cut him off. "She's described to have, 'the smile of an angel?' who writes this trash?" he exclaimed incredulously as he flipped through the pages.  
  
Nash looked up to see Nadir looking in his direction. He said nothing, but Nash was almost certain that beneath the mask he was wearing an expression not unlike Borus' whenever he caught sight of him.  
  
Nash feigned an apologetic look and Nadir continued.  
  
"Now, Thomas, you'll be the main character. Joe, you'll be Flik, and Ace, you're Viktor. Jacques, you'll do nicely as Neclord, and Geddoe, I think you should be the narrator."  
  
Nash looked down at the last name on the list and knew what was coming.  
  
"Nash, you'll be Sierra."  
  
He was sure this was his punishment for criticizing the script.  
  
The morning passed incredibly slowly, and by mid-afternoon everyone's apathy towards the project had ripened into an intense annoyance. Nash couldn't see how Nadir expected anyone to sit through this poorly written play. The group's acting wasn't exactly doing the story justice either. Thomas could barely stammer through his lines, Geddoe took it upon himself to turn the narration into point-form, and Jacques hadn't uttered a single word despite the fact he had the most lines in the whole play.  
  
Finally, Nadir let them go around two in the afternoon, reminding them that they were expected to return at six o'clock for the first performance.  
  
Nash hurried out of the tavern and made a beeline for his room. He very much needed some sleep if he was expected to do humiliate himself further on stage that evening. He also had to listen to a report from the same hag he was portraying in this pathetic play.  
  
However, once again as he touched the doorknob to his room he heard a young, familiar voice.  
  
"Mr. Nash, sir! A word!"  
  
He turned to see Kidd running up to him, notepad and pencil in hand. Nash groaned and was tempted to dash into his room and lock the door, but Chris' warning to be courteous to all castle residents echoed in his head, and he let out a sigh of resignation as the boy began to speak.  
  
"Good day," Kidd said, flipping his notepad to a fresh page. "I have done some further investigation on your shady background due to your reluctance to be straightforward with me. Are you fraternizing with the enemy? Passing information along to a source not associated with the Fire Bringer?"  
  
Nash narrowed his eyes at him, wondering if he'd heard more of his conversation with Chris yesterday then he was letting on. "No."  
  
Kidd scribbled something on his notepad. "A witness saw you speaking to an unknown person by the lake last night. Are you saying," here Kidd made an expression of disgust, "that tabloid-like newspaper article is right in assuming she is a 'friend' who you are mostly likely having an affair with?"  
  
This was definitely starting to wear on Nash's nerves. "An affair? No! I don't have to answer to you, that Arthur kid, or anyone else. Now get out of here!"  
  
"Hmm... Sounds like you're hiding something to me!" Kidd pointed at him with his pencil as Nash entered his room and slammed the door behind him.  
  
Nash planned on going straight to sleep, but on his bed was a copy of the 'Budehuc Times'. Sure enough the paper's headline read, "Nash having an affair? Not revealing the truth". This Arthur kid had wasted no time in doing a page-length report of Nash's encounter with Seirra at the lake. He scanned the article, catching phrases like "seemed a little evasive, and "his wife's troubles continue".  
  
He lowered the newspaper, rubbed his forehead, and closed his eyes. Was there so little news in the castle that the kid had to resort to making up disparaging stories regarding Nash's non-existent love life? Now the whole castle was going to believe he was married and having an affair.  
  
But he couldn't correct the newspaper. If he confessed he wasn't actually married, then everyone would distrust him for lying to Chris. He had first used the 'missus' story on Chris in Iksay village in hopes that he could get her to believe him when he said he needed her help and wasn't just trying to flirt with her. His profession called for a lot of convincing lies, so he had no problem prattling on about a wife as though she actually existed. He had no idea that the little lie would spread all over this castle. At any rate, this newspaper was not the way to get the people at the castle to trust him.  
  
But then he knew he didn't really deserve to be trusted.  
  
Finally, he flung the newspaper aside and reclined on his bed. If these kids were going to try and make life difficult for him, he'd just have to play their game. For now, he'd just ignore it and concentrate on cooperating with the castle's other tenants, which meant he had to get some much-needed sleep before this silly performance tonight.  
  
But as exhausted as he was, he continued to lie awake, remembering Chris' distrustful face that morning, and finding that there was more than one reason why he shouldn't have told her that lie in Iksay.

* * *

A/N: I'm finding it harder to write Nash in this fic, as he's not as mysterious as I usually write him, due to the fact that it delves more into his perspective on things.  
  
Thank you everyone for the reviews, I appreciate them a lot! K'Arthur, I went back and fixed up the typos you pointed out... and then right after found a couple other ones... I must have the worst proofreading skills in the world! Majin Yuffie, you can bet on plenty of Nash/Chris moments! I haven't rated it as a romance fic, but it may still somehow end up as a Chris/Nash fic, we'll have to see. .  
  
Thanks again for reading! Until next time! 


	3. A Long Night

Chapter Three – A Long Night  
  
Nash did not sleep well that afternoon. He had barely been dozing for five minutes when he heard scratching at his window. He groggily sat up, and peered at the red bird flying outside his window.  
  
"Dominguez Junior!" he called, and hurried over to the window to let the bird in. The bird landed on his shoulder and squawked loudly in his ear.  
  
"Keep it down, you great stupid pigeon!"  
  
Dominguez Junior was his pet bird that he used to send messages to bishop Sasarai in Harmonia. He let Dominguez fly around to do whatever he wanted, but the bird always came when he called him.  
  
"I guess it's time to feed you," Nash sighed, digging through his belongings to find some seeds and table scraps he'd been saving for him. He held up a handful of food and the bird pecked greedily at its contents.  
  
Just then Nash saw a shadow outside under the crack of his door. Bird still on his shoulder, he crossed the room and flung his door open.  
  
It was Kidd again.  
  
Nash groaned. "Please tell me you haven't been standing outside my door all this time."  
  
"What is that on your shoulder?" Kidd asked, as though he hadn't heard.  
  
"What do you think it is? It's a bird," Nash replied wearily.  
  
"Yes, but what is it doing on your shoulder inside the castle?"  
  
"It happens to be my pet."  
  
Kidd appeared to jot this information into his notebook. "Right. What's its name?"  
  
"Brutus the Boy-Detective Mangler."  
  
The red bird on Nash's shoulder cocked its head to the side, and cooed curiously. Nash made a mental note that next time he needed a bird messenger, he would get a vicious-looking hawk instead of an overgrown pigeon.  
  
Kidd raised his eyebrow, suspicious, but clearly not taking the hint. "I heard you call him something else just before. Dummy-wiz Junior, or something."  
  
Nash knew he was going to lose his cool with him any minute. "It's Dominguez Junior! Now for the last time, go away." Nash tried to close the door as he said this.  
  
Kidd pushed against the door, apparently not wanting to be shut out yet. "What kind of a name is that?"  
  
"Get out!" Nash said, pushing harder against his door.  
  
"Not until I get all the facts!"  
  
Dominguez started squawking and flapping his wings.  
  
"Get! Out!"  
  
"No!"  
  
There was an intense scuffle as Nash and Kidd struggled against their side of the door, pushing. The bird continued to clutch to Nash's shoulder, squawking and flapping his wings, feathers flying everywhere.  
  
Kidd suddenly gave up, and the abrupt absence of his weight caused Nash to slam the door shut.  
  
...With Dominguez Junior's wing in it.  
  
"Dominguez!"  
  
The bird let out a great screech of pain in Nash's ear, and the Harmonian wretched the door open hastily to release his pet's mangled wing. Cradling the bird in his arms, he caught sight of Kidd's heel before it sprinted around the corner of the hallway and disappeared.  
  
"I'm going to kill that damn kid!"

* * *

"Yes, the wing is definitely broken," Tuta said, examining Dominguez Junior on a table. "How did you say this happened?"  
  
Nash had not yet said how, and in his haste to get his bird down to the Infirmary, he hadn't thought of what to tell Tuta. Somehow he doubted that "I slammed a door on his wing" would make him sound like a caring owner. He wanted these people to like him, after all.  
  
However, he barely paused for a second before launching into an explanation. "I'm not sure how he did it, to be honest. He usually comes to me in the early evenings to be fed, and when he didn't come I went out to find him and he was by the lake, unable to take flight and holding his wing oddly. I knew something must be wrong."  
  
Tuta nodded vaguely, but he was more focused on the bird, as he gently examined its wing. "Well, I'm not exactly qualified to heal animals, but I'll see what I can do," he said finally.  
  
"Thank you, Tuta. I really appreciate it."  
  
Nash exited the Infirmary and crossed the hall to the tavern. It wasn't until he sat down with a drink that he realized Dominguez's injury had caused yet another grievous quandary to his plans. If he heard something important from Sierra tonight, how was he going to tell bishop Sasarai about it? It would be quite a while before Dominguez could fly again, and he was late getting news to the bishop as it was.  
  
He was just going to have to go to Sasarai himself.  
  
Nash stared out the window, somberly watching the sunset as though awaiting his execution. It would take days to get to Harmonia and back. He wanted to leave now, but he had to wait for Sierra to see if she'd found out anything important. And the last thing he wanted to do right now was to talk to that old hag again.  
  
Nadir's voice called from the stage. "All actors in "Neclord's End", we're getting set up now!"  
  
Check that, Nash thought. The last thing he wanted to do was act in this bloody play.

* * *

It was worse than Nash had anticipated. To Nash's horror, quite a crowd had shown up to witness the atrocity that was Nadir's play. Thomas was stuttering worse than ever now that he was in front of an audience, and it took him so long to stumble through his part that Joe and Ace had lapsed into a bored daze and forgot to say their lines. Geddoe had now shorten the narration to simply cueing the actor's characters, which Nash was actually grateful for as it spared him from listening to atrocious description of Sierra's 'smile of an angel'.  
  
"Time to give up, you can't escape," Sergeant Joe stated blandly to Jacques, who stared blankly back at him in silence.  
  
"Splendid," Nadir whispered excitedly to Nash. Apparently, the masked man was of the opinion that if the audience wasn't throwing rotten vegetables at the actors, then they must be enjoying it. "This is it!"  
  
"Yeah," Nash muttered under his breath. "My big acting debut as a cocky hag of a vampire."  
  
"...Sierra..." Announced Geddoe dully.  
  
Nadir gave Nash a slight push and with a small sigh, Nash strode onto stage. Time to get this thing over with.  
  
"It's been a while, eh Neclord," he said to Jacques, who turned to him with the same vacant expression he'd been wearing since the start of the play.  
  
An uncomfortable silence fell as Jacques continued to stare at him in silence.  
  
Nash vaguely wondered why Nadir would give Jacques such a big part. Surely even a lobotomized man could act better than him. Then again, as Nash continued to stare back at him, he wasn't so sure that Jacques hadn't had a lobotomy. Nash made a mental note to ask him later.  
  
He chanced a glance out at the audience. They were, to put it plainly, bored out of their skulls. A few looked up at the stage with mixed looks of disbelief and disgust. The rest looked like they were nodding off, and Nash was even sure he could actually hear someone snoring from somewhere near the back of the tavern.  
  
And then he spotted her.  
  
Sierra stood among the shadows at the very back of the tavern, quite unnoticed by the castle's other tenants. Her red eyes met his, and although her decidedly spiteful-looking smile was anything but angelic, he could tell she had some valuable information for him.  
  
He could also tell that she was enjoying his humiliation on stage far too much. Chris' warning to be cooperative and helpful in her absence was forgotten as he turned back to Jacques on stage.  
  
"It's me, 'Old Hag Sierra' – I'm arrogant, I never keep promises, and I suck on people's blood at any chance," he stated loudly.  
  
This actually elicited the raise of an eyebrow from Jacques, who otherwise, did not respond. A couple people in the audience who were still awake murmured. A strangled gasp was audible from backstage, which Nash guessed was Nadir.  
  
"What's the matter, Necky? Surely you remember me by the bags under my bloodshot eyes and the gray mop of tweedy hair?"  
  
Nash could now see Nadir at the side of the stage, still unseen by the audience. He was jumping up and down waving his hands around, jabbing his finger at the script in his hand. Nash wondered why his deviation from the script was any more significant than anyone else's. Regardless, it was funny to watch, the masked man's flailing limbs making him look like an overgrown marionette.  
  
More amusing was Sierra's reaction. She was glaring daggers at him. She looked so incensed that it was a wonder she was keeping as quiet and as still as she was. He knew he was going to really get it after the performance, but he was having far too much fun to stop now.  
  
"Your silence leads me to believe that you have become paralyzed at the sight of my hideousness. Which brings me to my reason for being here. The Moon Rune listens only to me, because I'm the oldest and ugliest. You'll find that my evil, deceitful presence will block the powers of the rune. Riou, dispose of this creature, who is almost as vile as me!"  
  
Thomas, as well as Sergeant Joe and Ace, looked surprised but amused. Even Geddoe was smirking slightly from the front of the stage.  
  
Jacques spoke for the first time all day. "I like that better than what's in the script."  
  
There was a definite snicker from the audience. After a minute of wondering who had the next line, Thomas remembered it was him and they bumbled through the rest of the play. It ended with Geddoe announcing that he would never narrate again. Some people actually applauded.  
  
Backstage, Nadir was sitting limply in a chair. For a minute Nash was afraid he actually died of shame. But then the man covered his masked face with his hands and moaned loudly.  
  
"I didn't think he'd take it that bad," Nash said to Ace as they walked past him.  
  
Ace grinned. "I guess he doesn't care how bad one's acting is as long as they aren't mocking the play. Looks like you crossed the line, my friend."  
  
Nash returned the smirk. "Well, it is my experience that if you do a job really poorly, you won't be asked to do it again."  
  
"That's a good philosophy," Ace replied with a laugh.  
  
"Yeah, I just hope Chris doesn't find out..."

* * *

The tavern quickly cleared out after the play, but Nash could not see Sierra amidst it all. For a fleeting moment, he was afraid that he really had crossed the line and that she had left without telling him her information as punishment. But he knew she wouldn't do that. That wasn't her style of punishment.  
  
Just then, he was grabbed around the neck and pulled backwards through a doorway into the kitchen. The room was dark and quiet, which told him that he and the ambusher were the only two there.  
  
He felt what was distinctively two long fangs brushing against his neck.  
  
"You know Sierra," Nash stated calmly, "I think you've actually gotten more vicious in the last fifteen years."  
  
"Give me one reason I shouldn't rid you of every last drop of blood," she hissed.  
  
"Because you'd be justifying my words when I said you suck people's blood at every chance. You want me to be wrong more than you want me to die."  
  
"You really think you can talk your way out of everything, don't you?"  
  
"It's a method that hasn't failed me yet."  
  
"I hope I'm there the day it does," she spat as she pushed him roughly away from her.  
  
Nash caught his balance, and straightened up. "There now, lets converse in a civilized manner. I know it's probably been a few centuries since you've done that, but you can at least try.  
  
"Don't push it," she growled.  
  
"Alright. What information have you got for me?"  
  
"Why should I even bother telling you?"  
  
"Because that was our agreement."  
  
"I never agreed to tell you, I agreed to investigate."  
  
"I don't really have time for games, Sierra. If there's trouble with the true runes, I have to know. I can contact Sasarai, and he's one of the few who can actually do something about this mess. Now I'm asking nicely Sierra. Please."  
  
Sierra glared at him for a full minute before replying. "I got there before the Zexen knights did. I followed a masked Harmonian bishop down the underground road by the Great Hollow. He was with a witch, a tactician and a tall man in black. They found the entrance to the ruins of Cyndar. There is a true rune within. They were trying to get it... It seems he's... collecting the true runes for himself."  
  
"I knew there was something about the masked bishop..." Nash said thoughtfully. "So he's using his power in Harmonia to obtain the true runes for his own purposes. But why?"  
  
Sierra shook her head. "I don't know. But there's something else."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"The masked bishop... I'm sure I've seen him before. He reminds me of someone who used to be in the Dunan Army."  
  
"You don't know his name?"  
  
"No, I was a part of the army, but I stayed in the graveyard and didn't know many of the castle's tenants."  
  
Nash smirked and was about to comment about her ghoulish habits, but Sierra's glare told him he had taunted her enough for one evening.  
  
"What about Chris?" he asked instead.  
  
"The Zexen Knights? They got there shortly after another man."  
  
"Another man?"  
  
She nodded. "Yes, he was also following them, it seems. He foolishly confronted them and was disposed of."  
  
"What was his name?"  
  
"Wyatt Lightfellow. He used to bear the True Water rune. I recognize him. He was involved with the Fire Bringer fifty years ago."  
  
"Wyatt Lightfellow? Chris' father?!"  
  
Sierra shrugged. "I knew him as Wyatt but he may have changed his name. There were a lot of people after him."  
  
"...It was Jimba," said Nash, remembering Chris telling him about how one of Lucia's men had gone missing. "And he's dead you say?"  
  
She nodded once.  
  
Nash felt a genuine wave of empathy for Chris. What a time to find and lose a father. She was so determined to find him... Nash only hoped that she had gotten the true rune before the masked bishop did.  
  
"Do you know who got the rune?"  
  
"No. I left right as the knights reached the entrance to the ruins."  
  
Nash nodded. The knights had made good time. Hopefully they would triumph over the bishop and bring back the true rune by late tomorrow.  
  
"Well Sierra, I just want to say-"  
  
"For the last time, don't thank me!"  
  
"-Say that you really are a miserable old hag for trying to bite me earlier."  
  
Sierra bristled.  
  
"Now don't you think a 'thank you' would be nicer to hear?" Nash grinned.  
  
Just then there was a loud clatter as a pile of dishes fell off a table onto the floor. Nash grabbed Sierra and ducked down behind the counter. They weren't alone.  
  
"Don't you dare touch me, you conniving, ungrateful-"  
  
"Shh! Someone is in here!" Nash hissed.  
  
"I don't care!"  
  
"I do!" he whispered hoarsely. "I have a reputation to er... destroy. I don't want these people to have any more reasons to think I'm untrustworthy. Conversing with a vampire in a kitchen in the middle of the night is not exactly ordinary."  
  
A shadow fell over them. They'd been found. How was he going to explain this? Slowly looking up, he wondered if Sierra was about to get her wish of being present when Nash failed to talk his way out of a tight situation.

* * *

A/N: This chapter was originally a lot longer, but I figured it'd be better to end this here and put the rest in the next chapter. Sorry if you've been waiting for the update, I just had a bit of writer's block for a while. Hope you enjoyed! As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated! 


	4. Late Night Picnic

Chapter Four – Late Night Picnic  
  
Nash looked up to see a young woman standing before them. She looked familiar. Nash's mind was reeling, trying desperately to find a lie that could explain why he was huddled behind a kitchen counter in the dark with a vampire.  
  
However, he suddenly recognized the woman's dark hair and simple green clothing. It was Yumi, an Alma Kinan girl who he and Chris had met on their journey to find the Flame Champion.  
  
He then wondered how and why it was she was in the castle. Alma Kinan was miles and miles away. He noticed that she was not looking at him. In fact, she didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular. Her eyes were glazed over as though in some sort of trance.  
  
Nash stood up, now more concerned about Yumi than what excuse he was going to use. Sierra pushed herself away from him.  
  
"Excuse me, Miss Yumi? Are you quite alright?"  
  
She continued to stare unseeingly past him, and did not respond.  
  
"She's sleepwalking," Sierra stated simply.  
  
"You know, I think you're right," Nash replied as Yumi walked aimlessly past them.  
  
Nash went over to her, guided her to a chair, and sat her down.  
  
"She lives in Alma Kinan... How in the world did she get here? Do you think we should wake her up?" Nash asked.  
  
"I think we should get out of here before she does wake up," replied Sierra.  
  
"But what if she unknowingly sleepwalks into some danger?" Nash asked. "There are a lot of seedy characters around here that might take advantage of her, you know."  
  
"You being one of them."  
  
Nash was searching for a suitable rebuttal when there was a small gasp, and he turned to see Yumi gazing groggily around her. Her eyes went to Sierra, and then rested on Nash, comprehension slowly dawning upon her. She had awoken.  
  
"Nash, sir?"  
  
Nash nodded. "Hello, Miss Yumi."  
  
"Where am I?" she asked, traces of fear etched across her face.  
  
"Budehuc Castle. How you got here is what I'd like to know," Nash replied.  
  
"Budehuc Castle? Am I... far from Alma Kinan?"  
  
"Quite a long way, I'm afraid. Do you remember anything before just now?"  
  
"No... Last I remember I was in my bed at home."  
  
Nash nodded. "We think you were sleepwalking."  
  
"Yes," Yumi replied with a resigned sigh. "I sleepwalk a lot. But I don't think I could have sleepwalked right out of my village to this... place."  
  
"It is hard to fathom how you got here," Nash agreed. "It makes me wonder how long you've been wandering the halls around here in your sleep tonight."  
  
"Viki must have had something to do with this," Sierra suddenly said.  
  
"Viki?" asked Nash and Yumi together.  
  
"Yes. I knew her from the Dunan Unification War. She's a teleportress. That's how I got to and from the Great Hollow so fast. She says that one of the leaders here, Geddoe, found her a while ago and offered her a home here. While she is useful for getting to places fast, she's not entirely reliable, as she's brainless beyond all measure."  
  
"But why would she teleport me here?" Yumi asked in bewilderment.  
  
"I can't pretend to understand her dim-witted ways. I suggest you ask her."  
  
"In the meantime," Nash added, looking at Sierra, "I think you better clear out of here."  
  
"I'll leave when I please!"  
  
"Fine, do whatever you want. I'm going to help Yumi get back to Alma Kinan." And without looking back, Nash left the kitchen with Yumi.  
  
"May I ask who that young lady was?" Yumi asked.  
  
"Oh... She's my missus," he lied without thinking, then immediately regretted it. He thought he was going to try to dispel the rumors of him having a wife... Now he just reinforced them. What's worse, if Sierra ever found out he had said that...  
  
"Oh, really? I didn't... Interrupt anything, did I?" Yumi asked cautiously.  
  
Nash inwardly cringed, but before he could answer, a skinny blond boy with large glasses leapt in front of them. It was Arthur. Nash looked at the clock in the hall. It was well after midnight.  
  
"May I just ask a few questions?" he said, pushing the bridge of his glasses up against his nose.  
  
"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Nash said through gritted teeth.  
  
"Who is this young woman here?" he had his notebook out. Damn these kids and their damn notebooks.  
  
Nash kept moving Yumi along, but the boy was following.  
  
"My name is Yumi. I'm from Alma Kinan," the young woman replied, looking over her shoulder at Arthur.  
  
"Ah, I've heard about you when I interviewed the lady Chris! What are you doing here, Miss Yumi?" the boy asked.  
  
"I was sleepwalking."  
  
"Sleepwalking!? And you found her, Nash, sir?"  
  
"Yes," he replied curtly.  
  
"Where was she?"  
  
"I was wandering the hallways and ended up in the kitchen," Yumi answered, "I saw Nash with his wife. They found me."  
  
"His wife!?"  
  
Nash winced. Now she'd done it. Now the whole castle would know that his 'wife' visited him last night. In the kitchen, no less.  
  
"That's enough, Arthur, miss Yumi is very tired and doesn't want to answer any more questions."  
  
"Wait, please make a statement for the story!" Arthur pleaded to Nash.  
  
"Why should I?" Nash said irritably.  
  
"Well, you wouldn't want me getting any of the facts wrong, would you?" the boy replied, emphasizing the word 'facts' with a sneaky smile.  
  
Nash paused, turned to the boy, narrowing his eyes at him. This kid was threatening him! He knew the last thing he needed was more bad publicity. However, he wasn't about to be outsmarted by a kid.  
  
"Alright, here's the deal," Nash said. "If I give you the details about Yumi's sleepwalking, your article will not contain any slander, and you will quote me as an anonymous witness. Okay?"  
  
Yumi looked slightly confused as to what was going on, but Arthur nodded at once.  
  
"It's a deal."  
  
Nash released a sigh. "When I went to the kitchen at midnight, Yumi was wandering about the hallway. I called her, but it seemed she did not notice. My wife said she was sleepwalking." Now that Yumi had told Arthur that Sierra was his wife, he figured he might as well follow up with it in his statement. "I hope she gets better," he added as an afterthought, wanting to seem like the caring civilian.  
  
"And what were you doing in the kitchen with your wife at midnight?"  
  
No matter how he looked at it, any explanation would seem pretty bad. He'd just have to evade the question. "I told you I'd give you details about Yumi's sleepwalking, that's all."  
  
That said, he guided Yumi into a room near the entrance of the castle, and slammed the door in the boy's face.  
  
In the room, they found a girl asleep in a chair. She had shoulder length black hair and a white dress. Her mouth was hanging open and a long staff hung limply in her hand. She looked like a mage. Maybe they had found Viki by luck?  
  
"Excuse me," Nash said, gently prodding the girl.  
  
The girl suddenly jerked awake, opening her big eyes, and looking around. "Oh, hello! Must have nodded off!"  
  
"Are you the teleportress, Viki?"  
  
She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Who're you?"  
  
"I'm Nash and this is Miss Yumi."  
  
"Ohhh, you're the lost girl!" Viki said excitedly, pointing at Yumi.  
  
"Excuse me?" she asked.  
  
"This place is great isn't it?"  
  
"What do you mean, 'lost girl'? Do you know how she got here?" Nash asked.  
  
"Of course I do! I brought her with me!"  
  
"What? Why did you teleport her from Alma Kinan to here?" Nash asked, exasperated.  
  
"Alma Kinan? That's where we were?" Viki seemed genuinely puzzled by this.  
  
Nash was beginning to see what Sierra meant by 'brainless beyond all measure'. "Could you tell us what happened?"  
  
Viki smiled widely. "Sure! You see, earlier tonight, I was going to teleport myself downstairs, but I guess I sent myself a bit too far and found myself in a strange forest with lots of wooden houses."  
  
"You accidentally teleported yourself to Alma Kinan?!" Yumi asked in disbelief.  
  
Viki shrugged. "Well anyway, I was going to send myself back when you came walking up to me."  
  
"I don't remember that..." Yumi said.  
  
Viki continued. "Well, you looked awfully lost, so I said to myself, 'why not take this lost girl with me!' After all, this is where lost people go, right? This is where that nice man sent me when he found me. So I thought I'd bring her back with me so she could have a place too!" Her smiled widened even more, apparently quite pleased with herself.  
  
"She wasn't lost, she was sleepwalking!" Nash exclaimed.  
  
"Huh?" Viki looked quite confused.  
  
"Nevermind," Yumi said quickly. "It was just a mistake... But do you think you could send me back? My sister is going to get very worried if she finds me missing in the morning."  
  
Viki's face fell a little. "Well... okay... I thought you might like it here though!"  
  
"I do!" Yumi replied, obviously trying to humor the thickheaded girl. "But I must go back, at least for now." She turned to Nash. "Thank goodness I ran into you, I could have gotten in a lot of trouble, wandering around here at night, asleep. Thank you for helping me."  
  
Nash flashed a charming smile. "Not at all. It was the gentlemanly thing to do." He turned to Viki. "Now make sure she gets back to Alma Kinan, and not somewhere in Toran Republic!"  
  
Viki nodded. "Okay!"  
  
And before Nash realized what was happening, Yumi had vanished.  
  
"You sent her?" he asked hesitantly after a moment.  
  
"Yup-yup!" she replied with a goofy smile.  
  
"That's a handy skill you have there..." Nash commented, a plan beginning to form in his mind. "Can you teleport people anywhere?"  
  
"I think so!"  
  
"Hmm..." Nash rubbed his chin. Maybe Viki could teleport him straight to Sasarai in Harmonia! But he still had doubts in his mind about Viki's capabilities. He couldn't help wondering if Viki hadn't messed up again, and if Yumi wasn't at the mercy of some sea monster out in the middle of the ocean right now.  
  
Regardless, the temptation of a faster trip was too much to pass up. Maybe he could ask her to come with her, so that if she 'got lost' again, she could send him back. Yes, that was a sound enough plan.  
  
"Viki, would you like to come on a little trip with me?"  
  
"Ooooh, like a picnic?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"Well..." he couldn't bear to disappoint her. "Yes, like a picnic! In Harmonia!"  
  
"Yay! Let's go!" Viki jumped up and down in excitement, as though having a picnic in Harmonia at one in the morning was a completely logical thing to do. "So, to Harmonia?"  
  
"Wait...No," Nash said, another idea coming to mind. He could spare a little extra time if he had Viki with him, right?  
  
"No? Then where?"  
  
"Viki, first do you think you could take me to Chris?"

* * *

From a distance through the trees, Nash could see the glow of a campfire and the outlines of several people and horses.  
  
As Nash had hoped, Chris and her knights had set up camp in the forest not too far from the Great Hollow. He had figured that, had all gone well with stopping the masked bishop, they would have set off back to Budehuc and camp among the trees before making the trek across the open plains.  
  
Unfortunately, to Nash's despair, he could see that the two knights standing guard at the camp were none other than Percival and Borus. They would not want him to speak to Chris. This wasn't going to be easy.  
  
"Can we have a picnic now!?" Viki asked loudly.  
  
"Shh! No!" Nash hissed, then upon seeing her alarmed face, softened his tone as though talking to a child. "Viki, we will go have a picnic soon, I just have to talk to the knights first, okay?"  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"Good. Wait here," Nash said.  
  
Viki still hidden among the trees, Nash made his way towards the two knights, hoping against hope that they would be somewhat reasonable. As he neared them, they spotted his form and both reached for the hilts of their swords.  
  
"Who's there!?" Borus called.  
  
Nash continued to walk up to them until they could see it was him.  
  
"Nash?" both Percival and Borus said in unison.  
  
"None other," replied Nash, smiling at them as though he were an old friend.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Percival asked, suspicion evident upon his features.  
  
While it was Percival doing the interrogating, Nash's eye was fixed nervously upon Borus, who had not relaxed his grip on the hilt of his sword. In fact Nash was certain he had tightened it. This definitely was not going to be easy.  
  
"I'd like a word with Chris."  
  
"It's Lady Chris to you, you ruffian!" growled Borus.  
  
"You know, Borus, 'ruffian' is really getting old. Surely you could have thought of something nastier to say to me by now?"  
  
"Hold your tongue!" The blonde knight unsheathed his sword and brandished it before him.  
  
Percival stepped in between them. "You were not supposed to leave the castle while Lady Chris was on this investigation," he pointed out to Nash.  
  
"Nevertheless, I'd like to speak with her."  
  
"If you have a message for Chris, I will be sure it gets to her." Percival spoke calmly, but it was clear from his expression he didn't like Nash any more than Borus did.  
  
"I insist that I speak with her myself."  
  
"Lady Chris is resting! She's had a very long day and the last thing she needs is someone like you wasting her time!" Borus shouted.  
  
Nash flashed his sardonic smile that he knew Borus hated so much. "I disagree. The last thing she needs is an incompetent dunderhead like you, waving his sword around and making a racket in the wee hours of the morning."  
  
Nash should have known that he had gone too far. Borus growled like a rabid animal and pushed passed Percival, charging at Nash with his sword. Nash whipped out a small dagger he had up his sleeve. It didn't look like Borus was going to show much mercy.  
  
Then Viki popped up between them.  
  
Both Nash and Borus stopped dead in their tracks, Borus holding the sword still above his head in mid-swing, and Nash staring at Viki in bewilderment. Percival was standing off to the side with his mouth hanging open.  
  
"Hi!" she said cheerfully. "Are you coming to the picnic too?"  
  
Borus blinked unbelievingly. "...Picnic???"  
  
"Viki, I thought I told you to stay put!" Nash whispered.  
  
"But Nash! Aren't we going to invite them to come to the picnic?" Viki tilted her head to the side with a curious smile.  
  
Nash suddenly grinned. "Of course!"  
  
"What is going on?" Percival asked. "Who is this?"  
  
"This is Viki, a new recruitment of the Fire Bringer," Nash said pleasantly.  
  
Borus was still in a state of utter confusion, staring at the girl, and said nothing.  
  
"We were just saying," Nash said to Viki, "that you should be the one to decide where the picnic is."  
  
"Ohh, really!? I know the perfect place! Let's go!" Viki was jumping up and down in excitement again.  
  
"But you, Sir Percival, and Sir Borus go on ahead without me, I'll erm... Catch up later!" Nash said with a reassuring smile.  
  
"Oh, okay!" Viki was simply beaming. "Here we go!"  
  
And with one last look of confusion from Percival and Borus, Viki and the two knights vanished. Nash hoped that whatever place Viki chose was somewhere far, far away. He also hoped that all the noise Borus was making hadn't awoken Leo, Roland, Salome, or Louis.  
  
However, as he crept through the camp, he passed the forms of the other four, still asleep.  
  
He found Chris sleeping against a large rock, still fully clad in her armor. Her horse stood a few feet away from her, and looked at him wearily as Nash approached Chris' sleeping form.  
  
Nash kneeled beside the ironclad woman and paused. She was asleep and almost looked peaceful. It was not an expression Nash had ever seen on Chris before. When she was awake, she almost always looked stern or concerned or broody. It was at least a few minutes before Nash realized he had been just staring at her. He was going to have to wake her up sooner or later.  
  
Quite suddenly, Chris began moving her head back and forth against the rock. Her face no longer looked peaceful, and she was breathing quickly. Her lips moved but she did not speak. Nash let this continue for a few moments, uncertain of what he should do. Then her eyes flew open. She sat upright and pressed her hand over her face, breathing deeply.  
  
Nash continued to kneel silently beside her, but it was a few seconds before Chris realized she was not alone.  
  
Her head whipped towards him. "Nash?"  
  
He smiled at her, but he knew it must have looked like a very sad smile. He realized that Chris must've been having a bad dream. She had almost certainly been reliving the death of her father.  
  
"You really shouldn't sleep in all that armor, it looks rather uncomfortable," he said finally.  
  
"I'm quite used to it. What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to see you."  
  
"I told you not to leave the castle!"  
  
"I know, but I had to leave."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I just needed to see a pretty face."  
  
Chris' defenses were back up, now fully alert. "You followed us here, didn't you!"  
  
"No, I didn't. Did you get the rune?"  
  
"What rune?"  
  
"The True Water rune."  
  
"How did you-"  
  
"A little bat told me," Nash smirked slightly, thinking of Sierra.  
  
Chris eyed him distrustfully. "Yes I got it, and you better hope I don't use it on you for defying a direct order."  
  
"I stayed at the castle the whole time until tonight, I swear!"  
  
"That's impossible, it takes at least a day to get out this far. Besides, it doesn't matter, you still left the castle before I returned."  
  
"I admit defeat," Nash sighed. "But I swear on my life I've been a good boy. I was courteous to the other tenants, and I even acted in Nadir's play. You can ask him yourself. And if he covers his face and moans, it's just because he's too stunned by my mesmerizing acting too speak."  
  
"Why are you here?" she asked.  
  
"I told you I just wanted to see a pre-" he cut himself off as he caught another one of Chris' death glares. "The truth is I wanted to tell you that I am going to be away from the castle for a while."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'll be coming back, don't you worry!"  
  
Chris looked away from him. "Why would I worry?"  
  
Nash simply flashed another one of his irritating smiles, which he knew Chris could see out the corner of her eye.  
  
"Oh, just get out of here!" she exclaimed.  
  
Nash stood up, but he did not move after that.  
  
"Chris..." he began, suddenly serious.  
  
"...What?" she asked, taken off guard by the sudden change of tone in his voice.  
  
"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, especially with me, but... You have my condolences... about your father. My parents were killed too, when I was about your age."  
  
There was a long moment of silence, and Nash couldn't clearly see the expression on her fire lit face. He was sure she was going to unleash a fit of rage on him, or waspishly tell him to leave, or tell him she didn't want his condolences and didn't care if his parents were dead too.  
  
But the reply that finally came was calm, and sounded as though she had embraced the gesture of empathy. "Thank you...I really didn't know him..."  
  
"...I think he loved you, all the same."  
  
Chris gazed into the fire. "How could he?"  
  
Nash smiled. "How could he not?"  
  
Nash's rare display of deep sentiment left Chris dumbfounded, and there was another lengthy moment of silence.  
  
"Well..." Nash said eventually. "I must be leaving. I'll be back at the castle as soon as I can." He walked over to Borus' horse and took the reins.  
  
"Wait a minute," Chris said, getting to her feet and looking around. "Where are Percival and Borus? I thought they were supposed to be guarding the camp."  
  
"Well..." Nash grinned as he mounted Borus' horse. "They decided to go on a picnic."  
  
And he rode off on the horse towards Harmonia, leaving Chris to stare after him in confusion.

* * *

A/N: Writing a 'behind the scenes' kind of story, I wanted to have this clever plot with Nash that involved a theory about the newspaper articles, like the articles about Nash meeting a mysterious girl by the lake, and about Yumi sleepwalking. My plot fit perfectly until I suddenly realized there was a massive plot hole that was big enough to drive a tank through: Yumi is not a part of the Firebringer at this point in the story. I still wanted to use the idea though, so that's why I made up all that stuff with Viki transporting Yumi to explain why she was wandering around the castle in her sleep. Hope it's somewhat plausible. -- Anyway, I took the 'statement' the Nash made directly from the newspaper article in the game.  
  
K'Arthur, I'm glad you liked the interaction between Sierra and Nash in the last chapter, I love writing the dialogue with them! It's strange, because the more I write scenes with them together the more I seem to appreciate the possibility of Nash/Sierra – but Chris/Nash always has and probably always will be my favorite pairing!  
  
Anyway, thanks again to all who are reading my story, and thanks for the reviews, as they are truly inspiring! I'll have the next chapter up in a bit. 


	5. Deceitful Nature

Chapter Five – Deceitful Nature  
  
"Bishop Sasarai! Are you alright?"  
  
"...Yes... Yes Nash, I'm fine... It is you who is not alright."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"It's not your fault Nash, you've done well. No, don't try to get up, I'll get help.  
  
Darkness.

* * *

Nash groaned. Slowly, he opened his eyes, his head throbbing as he did so. He just wanted to sleep.  
  
But he couldn't. He had to get to Harmonia, he had to tell Sasarai about the masked bishop. He had to convince him that joining the Fire Bringer was the wisest choice. He had to-  
  
Wait a minute. The grogginess of sleep was lifting from him and Nash was starting to remember everything that had happened.  
  
He already was in Harmonia. He already did tell Sasarai about Luc.  
  
Luc! That's who the masked bishop was! Sasarai's brother had appeared in the middle of Nash's conference with Sasarai. He tried to tell Sasarai that he and himself, Luc, were clones of Hikusaak, comprised of some weird cellular goo. Then he was going to take Sasarai's True Earth rune. Nash had tried to stop him...  
  
...And then he'd been blasted for getting in the way. Luc had stolen Sasarai's rune, while Nash watched helplessly while struggling to remain conscious. After Luc left, Nash had crawled over to Sasarai to make sure he was okay... Then he must have blacked out... But he had not died, which is why he was here, wherever 'here' was.  
  
He surveyed his surroundings with increasing awareness. His chest had a couple of bandages on him where he'd probably been cut open when he was blasted with magic. Next to him, all his belongings were laid out on a table. He was lying in a bed in a dimly lit spare room somewhere inside the Crystal palace in Harmonia. The crystal like walls that were adorned with various Harmonian pictures and artifacts confirmed this. He turned his head towards the source of dim light, and found a window with the shade pulled down.  
  
Sierra was standing in front of it, staring at him.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he croaked, his voice feeling like he hadn't used it in days. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, his head throbbing in protest.  
  
"What indeed," she replied. "You needn't remind me that I have better things to do than hang around this place."  
  
"What, like sucking the blood of your next victim?"  
  
"You had better start showing me a little more respect, or that next victim will be you."  
  
"I'm not so convinced that I haven't been your victim already," Nash grumbled. "I feel terrible."  
  
"Alas, your injury is not my doing," Sierra said, looking slightly remorseful. "And if it was, you'd be dead. It was Luc, if you recall."  
  
"So now you remember his name. Did you follow me here?"  
  
"I couldn't rely on a mere mortal to tell Sasarai of these important findings. I had to make sure you didn't get into your normal amount of mischief before reaching Harmonia."  
  
"So you were looking out for me? That's sweet Sierra, but I don't need an old Bat like you lurking about in my shadow. It cramps my style."  
  
Sierra's eyes flashed dangerously. "If you don't hold your tongue, you will have no one but the nurse that comes to look after you to answer your questions, and in the state you're in, you can bet she won't be very informative."  
  
"What? My questions? A nurse? How long have I been out anyway?"  
  
"Questions like that," Sierra replied with a sly smirk.  
  
"Okay, okay, you win. Please tell me, how long I've been wasting away in here?"  
  
Sierra smirked. "You've been unconscious for about a week."  
  
"A week!?"  
  
"Yes. Seven, Nashless days. It's been bliss."  
  
"Where's bishop Sasarai? Is he okay?" Nash asked.  
  
"He's fine," Sierra replied. "I'd been hiding outside the palace and didn't really know what happened until I saw Luc leave- then I knew there had been trouble. I went in and saw him getting some servants to take you up to this room to rest. He's now gone to the aid of the Fire Bringer, who are currently fighting Luc's army of monsters near Brass Castle."  
  
"Army of monsters?"  
  
"Apparently so. There have been rumors that since Luc lost the backing of the Harmonian army, he's been using the witch to conjure fearsome monsters. As soon as Bishop Sasarai heard these rumors, he assembled his army and is now assisting them in their battle at Brass castle. He then plans to join the Fire Bringer."  
  
Nash leaned his head back against the headboard of the bed he was in. "Good... Luc is outside of Harmonia's control and the only way to take him down is for Harmonia to join forces with Fire Bringer..."  
  
A thought suddenly came to Nash, and he looked to the bedside table. "Has the bishop left me any further instructions? I don't see any notes or orders..."  
  
Sierra shrugged. "I heard him talking to the nurse before he left. He told her that when you finally awoke, not to tell you where he's gone, because you'd try to get involved, and he wants you to take some time to recover."  
  
"But I have recovered!" Nash exclaimed, and to prove it, tried to get out of the bed. His knees buckled the moment he tried to stand up, and his head pounded with pain.  
  
He would have landed on the floor in a heap, but Sierra stepped forwards and caught him, supporting him under the arms.  
  
"That headache came on rather suddenly," Nash sputtered over Sierra's shoulder.  
  
"You foolish humans," Sierra grumbled, depositing Nash back into the bed. "You can't even see first-hand how fragile your mortal bodies are."  
  
"I'm not fragile!" Nash protested.  
  
"You're fragile and weak," Sierra retorted. "You also seem to forget that you're not twenty-two anymore. It will take longer for your body to recover." Sierra smirked. "You always make slurs about how old I am, but it is you who is now suffering the effects of age. The irony of that is very sweet indeed."  
  
"I'm not suffering from the effects of age!" Nash insisted. "I'm only thirty-seven! Besides, no matter how old I get, you'll always be older. About eight centuries older, in fact. There's no way for you to outlive your Old Hag status. In fact," Nash continued, rubbing his chin in thought, "as you get closer to your ninth century of demon-hood, you might have to upgrade to being the 'Ancient Hag', or the 'Archaic Hag. Or maybe –"  
  
Sierra grabbed Nash's dagger off the bedside table and brandished it threateningly.  
  
"-Actually, I think 'Old Hag Sierra' should do you for another few centuries."  
  
"I should have let you fall and knock yourself unconscious so I could have a few more joyous days without you."  
  
Nash grinned. "Why didn't you then? It's starting to sound like you're actually concerned for my welfare."  
  
"Don't flatter yourself," Sierra snarled. "There's still work to be done."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Sierra tossed an envelope into Nash's lap.  
  
"I thought you said bishop Sasarai considered my job to be done?" Nash asked, picking up the envelope suspiciously.  
  
"It's not from Sasarai. It's from Albert Silverberg, the tactician who has been helping Luc and the witch."  
  
"What!?"  
  
"He tried to sneak in here while the nurse was out. I recognized him from when I was spying on them at the Cyndar ruins, so I thought he was going to attempt an assassination... I confronted him-"  
  
"-You mean, you sucked his blood?"  
  
"No!" Sierra hissed angrily. "I merely stated that if he didn't explain himself immediately, he would suffer a most gruesome and painful death."  
  
"Wow Sierra, you're really starting to develop a flare for diplomacy."  
  
Sierra glared at him, but continued. "However, he didn't seem interested in killing you, which I must admit, was a slight disappointment. He asked me to give you this letter when you awoke. It seems he plans on betraying Luc by disclosing some important information, but he wouldn't tell me what."  
  
"The seal on this letter has been broken," Nash stated accusingly.  
  
Sierra simply shrugged. "Yes, I read it. I have a right to know after all the trouble I've gone through to help you."  
  
Unable to argue with this, Nash silently opened the letter. There was no addressee, nor had it been signed. It simply read 'Meet with me if you want to stop him'."  
  
"Meet with him where?" Nash wondered out loud.  
  
"Well it's hard to pick a time and place amidst all the war," Sierra replied, obviously having had more time to think about the somewhat enigmatic message. "He has to stay close to Luc, after all."  
  
"Sounds like it could be a trap..." Nash mused.  
  
"Unlikely," said Sierra immediately. "He seemed to be in rather a hurry, as though he didn't want to be caught. Also, you'll notice he didn't care to sign his name, or put any names on the message, for that matter. If Luc found it, he wouldn't be able to accuse him of betrayal."  
  
"I wouldn't trust him based on that. Albert is of Silverberg blood. Cunningness runs in his family."  
  
"Yes, but that is exactly why this wouldn't be a trap. It's obvious from what I saw at the Cyndar ruins that Albert isn't as loony as the rest of them. He's not helping them out of the goodness of his heart. He's definitely got his own agenda. That's why it shouldn't be hard to believe that he'd betray him in a heartbeat if it were of benefit to him. Besides, they have bigger fish to fry than a pesky Harmonian spy."  
  
"As much as I hate to admit it, you have a point," Nash replied.  
  
"I know I do." Sierra turned and walked to the door.  
  
"You're not coming with me, I take it."  
  
"Not a chance. I've had enough of you for one day."  
  
"Does anyone besides Albert know you've been lurking around here?"  
  
"No. These days I like to go unseen."  
  
"So you've become reclusive again."  
  
Sierra sighed impatiently. "The nurse will probably be here shortly. If I were you, I'd rest that frail human body of yours before pursuing Albert. You shouldn't have any problems finding him around Brass castle; for wherever Luc is at large, he can't be far behind. Ah yes, and take this." Sierra tossed a small mirror onto Nash's bed.  
  
"Why are you giving me this? Are you frustrated that you can't see your vain vampy self in it?"  
  
"It's called a Blinking Mirror!" Sierra spat. "It will get you back to Budehuc castle the instant you gaze upon it. I don't think you're weak, feeble, inferior body could handle another long horseback ride to the Grasslands."  
  
"Well, well, you just seem to be just full of answers. I guess there's some truth to that saying, 'with age comes wisdom'. Of course, that would make you the wisest person on the planet."  
  
Sierra flung Nash's dagger at him, missing his head by inches. She then stormed from the room, Nash calling after her.  
  
"Hey, don't you know how to take a compliment!?"

* * *

Nash consumed several portions of the medicine the nurse left him to bring back his strength. He rested for only a few hours after Sierra left, and used the mirror as soon as he was able to stand on his feet without collapsing. As Sierra had claimed, the Blinking Mirror returned him to the castle the moment he looked into it.  
  
He found it was a very odd feeling, being in a palace bedroom one moment, then walking out of a mirror into Budehuc castle's drab hallway the next, but he shook off the feeling quickly and got his bearings. There was no one in sight. Nash figured they must all be battling at Brass Castle.  
  
He went outside and then to the castle's ranch. He saddled up a fast looking horse (feeling only a slight wave of guilt as he remembered that Borus' stolen horse was still in Harmonia) and rode off quickly for Brass Castle.  
  
He reached the castle by sundown from the West side, the opposite side from where the battle must be taking place. The absence of all knights and citizens by the West gate verified this.  
  
He dismounted his horse and quickly made his way to the castle's entrance. He needed to get to the other side and find Albert, but amidst all fighting, it seemed impossible. He wouldn't even make it through the front line. What he needed was a way to get around the battle...  
  
Nash smirked as the solution suddenly came to him. The secret passageway through Chris' room! It led right to the East side of the bridge! It would be easy enough to get to as all the knights that usually guarded Chris' chambers were out fighting.  
  
Sure enough, the hallways of the second floor of the castle were completely deserted. He turned the knob of the door to Chris' room, and let out a vast sigh of relief when the door was miraculously unlocked.  
  
It took him only a moment to figure out how to open the passageway from behind the cabinet in the room, and he hurried down the dark tunnel. It was only when he was nearing the door at the other end that he wondered if this was really as great of a plan as he thought. Once outside, he'd be right in the thick of the enemy's troops... He was stealthy enough, but if the monsters spotted him... Well, Nash was pretty sure they weren't the kind of monsters to take prisoners.  
  
However, as he reached the end of the tunnel, he saw the door to the outside being blocked by a tall man with purplish hair and a long white coat.  
  
Albert Silverberg.  
  
Nash stopped a few feet from him, and Albert regarded him in unsurprised silence.  
  
"You knew I was coming. You made sure Chris' door was unlocked... How did you know I'd come through here?" Nash asked finally, impressed.  
  
Albert smiled very slightly. "I'm a tactician. It's my job to predict what my opponent's next move will be."  
  
Nash put a hand on his hip and narrowed his eyes at Albert. "Opponent? So is this a trap then?"  
  
"No, no trap."  
  
"Why is there a battle going on here?"  
  
"Luc came here to collect the True Fire rune from the Fire Bringer leader, Hugo. He has succeeded, and now he has them all. Brass Castle has been fighting against him," Albert replied.  
  
"You mean, he has the True Lightning and True Water rune as well?"  
  
"Yes. The Zexen knight Chris, was dealt with by Sarah in the Kaput forest, and it was all to easy to lure Geddoe to Le Buque to save the villagers."  
  
"What do you mean, 'dealt with'? Chris had better be alright!" Nash was surprised to hear the urgency in his own voice. He had nearly sounded like Borus for a moment!  
  
Albert raised an eyebrow. "Better than alright, I would say. She ambushed us from behind and trapped us between the two armies with the help from the Alma Kinan villagers. Now Sasarai has joined the battle and it is only a matter of time before we'll be forced to withdraw. Therefore, if you want to know what I wish to tell you, it would be best to cut the idle chat and get to business."  
  
"Very well," Nash replied, "On with it then."  
  
Albert nodded. "I suppose you're wondering why it is that Luc wishes to collect the four True Runes, Water, Fire, Lightning, and Earth, in addition to his own True Wind rune?"  
  
"The question had crossed my mind, yes."  
  
"I'm going to tell you. Luc plans to use those four runes to destroy his own."  
  
"Destroy a True Rune?!"  
  
"Yes. Luc has gone mad from the truth about his existence, and feels that man does not stand a hope against the tides of fate while the True Runes command it. He wishes to 'free' himself from the cursed world he feels he's imprisoned in, and the only way to do this is to destroy his True Wind Rune and himself with it. I hardly need to tell you what a devastating effect this will have on the world."  
  
"That's mad! To unleash such fathomless power... Countless people would die!"  
  
"Will die," Albert corrected, his face expressionless. "Unless someone is able to stop him."  
  
"And you've been helping this madman?!" Nash exclaimed angrily.  
  
Albert smirked slightly. "While I hardly support his motives, working with Luc has provided me with what I want."  
  
"You would help him kill millions of people, just to gain status in Harmonia? You're as mad as he is! There might not even be a Harmonia left if Luc succeeds!"  
  
"I don't particularly wish to see Luc succeed," Albert replied, inappropriately nonchalant. "Which is why we are here, talking."  
  
Nash crossed his arms and listened.  
  
"You see, Luc cannot easily destroy the True Wind Rune, even with the other four True Runes in his possession. He has to go to a special place and conduct a type of ritual. The process takes time, but this will be the Fire Bringer's last chance to stop him."  
  
"So I suppose the question is, where does this ritual take place?" Nash asked.  
  
"Indeed. This is what I've come to tell you. Luc is performing the ritual at place called the Ceremonial Site. It is a secret ruin located North of the Great Hollow." Albert presented a map. "I have drawn it on this map. Follow the directions and you'll find it."  
  
Nash took the map, but his eyes did not leave Albert.  
  
"I suppose you consider this to be a noble act on your part," Nash stated, not hiding his disgust.  
  
"I don't do this to salvage my dignity, nor to ease my conscious. But as you say, my status as a tactician is meaningless if there is no Harmonia. I know I am a deceiving man, but I am also a man of great ambition. And don't lecture me on nobility, Nash Latjke. From what I have learned about you through my sources, you are no more honorable than I am. No doubt you've had to lie and deceive as Sasarai's spy. You are no different from me."  
  
"You can't compare yourself to me," Nash replied in a quiet voice.  
  
Albert smirked. "I suppose not. You haven't the ambition, which is a shame because I've heard that you can be quite resourceful and clever when you need to be."  
  
"If having no ambition means not being willing to risk the lives of millions of unsuspecting people, then I suppose you're right."  
  
The tactician strode towards the door, and paused with his hand on the doorknob. "You possess a sarcasm that could rival my little brother's. By the way, say hi to dear little Caesar for me, will you? He, like you, is another who would waste his talents on trivial tasks rather than use them to become what he could be. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to tell Luc that it would be wisest for us to withdraw from this absurd battle." He left.  
  
Nash did not move for a quiet some time after Albert left. He was half- tempted to chase after him and strangle him. Finally, he realized that the battle would be ending soon and he'd half to get back to Budehuc castle to tell the others of what he'd learned. However insulting and aggravating his meeting with Albert had been, he had come out of it with some important information. He turned to leave, ignoring the little voice in the back of his mind that was telling him Albert was right to say that he was equally deceitful.

* * *

A/N: I guess there wasn't as much fun stuff in this chapter as in previous chapters, but I tried putting some in the scene with Sierra at least. I hope I didn't butcher Albert's character too much, and I hope you all liked it! Thank you so much to everyone who posted a friendly review, I really appreciate it! 


	6. Chris' Sting

Chapter Six – Chris' Sting  
  
By the time Nash had made his way back to Chris' room through the passageway, the sun was setting, and the knight's chambers were growing steadily darker. As he neared the doorway, he could hear a lot of activity going on in the hallways, and he knew that the battle had ended and the knights and citizens were scurrying around looking after the wounded and tallying how much damage had been done.

He was thankful for the diversion, and knew it would be all too easy to slip out of Chris' room without anyone noticing. However, the moment his hand touched the doorknob, he suddenly felt very hot and his head began to swim. The voices in the hallway outside seemed to get further and further away. There was a stab of pain from the wound on his chest, and at that moment, Nash realized Sierra had been right. He had pushed himself too hard and his not-so-youthful body was rebelling.

Staggering slightly, he headed back into Chris' bedroom, and sat on the bed. He took off his thick scarf and checked the bandages beneath his shirt. The wound was still quite sore. Luc really hadn't held back when he blasted him with his wind magic.

He rummaged through his coat, looking for the extra medicine he'd swiped from the nurse back in Harmonia. He'd just have to take some more medicine and press on. But he felt drowsier with every passing moment, and in the next moment he had fallen asleep on Chris' bed.

------

Nash awoke very late at night to the sound of a loud thunderstorm outside. He sat bolt upright and it took him several groggy moments to remember that he was in Chris' room at Brass castle.

He silently reprimanded himself for falling asleep. He had to get to Budehuc as soon as possible. Chris, Sasarai, and the others must have already returned there yesterday. It was only a matter of time until Luc completed the ritual at the Ceremonial Site, and if the Fire Bringer was going to stop him, the leaders had to prepare and move their armies very soon.

Nash pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the stabbing pains in his chest and head. He took some more medicine and slipped out of Chris' room into the dark corridor. He headed to the west gate, and did not suppress a groan when he found that his horse was gone. In the chaos after the battle, someone must have mistaken the horse for theirs and left with it. He'd have to return to Budehuc on foot. It didn't help matters that it was pouring rain.

Grumbling to himself that he wasn't paid enough for this, he set off towards the Yaza plains, hoping to make it to Budehuc by morning without becoming monster meat.  
  
Even though the rain had long-since stopped by the time he'd reached Budehuc the next morning, he was soaked to the skin, and his limbs were numb with cold. He made his way towards the entrance to Budehuc, and Cecile, who was standing guard by the crumbled wall, marched up to him, a severe look on her little face.  
  
"Mr. Nash! I must speak to you about the other week when you neglected your guard dut-" she cut herself off as Nash approached her. "Nash, sir! You're soaked! Were you traveling in that big thunderstorm?"  
  
"No, I decided to shower with my clothes on," Nash replied moodily.  
  
"You're going to get sick standing out here!"  
  
"I'm fine, now where are the leaders of the Fire Bringer? I have something very important to tell them."  
  
Cecile's eyes widened. "Oh, like a military secret? You can tell me! I'll tell them for you. You need to change and get some rest!"  
  
"I assure you Cecile, I'm fine. Where are they?"  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked.  
  
"Cecile!"  
  
"Well, okay..." Her bottom lip stuck out slightly in disappointment. "They're going to have a meeting in the battle strategy room on the first floor in about ten minutes. We got back late in the afternoon yesterday, but decided to put off any strategy meetings until the troops had a chance to rest up. Master Thomas, Lady Chris, Hugo, and Geddoe are all meeting with this important bishop from Harmonia. But you can't go marching in there, all wet like that! You really should let me."  
  
"Thanks, but I'll be fine, " Nash replied, and hastily made his way to the castle.  
  
Nash took a deep breath of relief as he reached the interior of the castle. The drafty place was far from warm, but it was at least sheltering him from the cold winds outside.  
  
He took a step towards the conference room and heard his boots make an unpleasant sloshing sound. He looked down to see that he was dripping water onto the floor. Cecile was right, he couldn't barge into the meeting looking like a drowned rat.  
  
He looked up and saw the doors to the conference room weren't closed, which could only mean that the meeting had not yet started. He had no choice, he had to get cleaned up as fast as he could and hope he wasn't too late for the meeting.  
  
This plan took a turn for the worse as he neared his room. Kidd appeared to have been awaiting his return, as he was sitting with his back against Nash's door. When he saw Nash, he sprung to his feet and immediately got out his notebook and pencil.  
  
"Nash Clovis, sir," Kidd began. "You have been missing from the castle for several days-"  
  
Nash's eye twitched. He didn't want this. He was wet. He was tired. And he still hadn't forgiven the child for smashing up Dominguez Junior's wing.  
  
"You have ten seconds to get out of my sight," Nash said through gritted teeth.  
  
"I can do a lot of investigating in ten seconds," Kidd said determinedly. "Now, is it true that you were in Harmonia during your prolonged absence from Budehuc?"  
  
"Seven...Six...Five..."  
  
"You're evading the question!"  
  
"Four...Three...Two..."  
  
"I'm not leaving until you answer my question!"  
  
"Time is up!"  
  
There was a brief brawl as Nash forced the kicking kid away from his door. He then proceeded to snatch the notebook out of his hand.  
  
"Give that back!" Kidd exclaimed with a note of desperation.  
  
Nash held it up, out of Kidd's reach. "Let's see what you write in this thing."  
  
He calmly flipped it open while Kidd desperately tried to snatch the book back.  
  
"From the looks of things, you have a page of notes on almost everyone in this castle!"  
  
"It's my job!"  
  
"Ohh, and look at this!" Nash said, a malicious smirk crossing his features. "We have little hearts around Lady Chris' name. Miss Jeane's too. How _precious_! Look at all these drawings you made of them!"  
  
Kidd's face had gone a brilliant shade of scarlet. "Give it back!"  
  
"I think not," Nash said with mock joviality. "I'm sure these two fine women would love to know everything dear little Kidd had to say about them. For that matter, I'd very much like to know what you've been writing about me all this time."  
  
Nash flipped the pages to where his name was written at the top. He stared at the childish handwriting on the page, a look of disbelief coming to his face.  
  
_Nash Clovis, information commissioned by B.R.  
  
-He's a shady guy. He had some kind of behind-the-scenes role during the Dunan Unification War. _

_-It's possible he is hiding something about himself, but I don't know what or why. _

_-Lately, he has been seen with a nasal bird on his shoulder. He calls it "Dominguez Junior." What a funny name! _

_-Before coming here, he lived with his sister and a distant relative. There must be a reason...  
_  
"You do commissions? Someone has been paying you to snoop around in my business?!" Nash flipped the notebook shut and waved it threateningly at Kidd.  
  
"Erm..." Kidd stuttered sheepishly. "It's tough, making a living as a detective... Detective work for the 'good of the castle' is all very noble work, but it doesn't pay very much. I have to make money any way I can."  
  
"So that's why you've spent so much time bugging me rather than someone else. You're being paid to. How did you find out this last tidbit of information?" Nash asked. The information about the Dunan Unification War and the bird were accounted for, but he knew for a fact that he never told the boy anything about who he lived with.  
  
Kidd spoke quickly, obviously in the hopes that if he told Nash everything, he'd get his notebook back. "I eavesdropped on bishop Sasarai and Dios. I treat all newcomers to the castle as potential suspects, so naturally I spied on them. I heard your name. They said something about alerting your sister and relative so that they could take you back to their home, where you lived before Sasarai 'dragged you into this mess'. They don't think you're here. They seem to think that you're injured and recovering in Harmonia."  
  
"A misapprehension that I will soon rectify," Nash replied, trying to hide the fact that he was mildly impressed with the boy's spying skills.  
  
"My question is," Kidd began, raising his eyebrow as he spoke, "where is your wife if you've been living with your relatives before becoming a member of the Fire Bringer?"  
  
"You're hardly in the position to be asking such questions," Nash replied, dangling the notebook over Kidd's head.  
  
The boy jumped at it, but Nash pulled it back out of his grasp.  
  
"Now, this 'B.R.'," Nash began, looking back at the notebook, "who is paying you to so efficiently make a nuisance of yourself by getting in my way... Those initials wouldn't represent the name Borus Redrum by any chance, would they?"  
  
"N...No..." stammered Kidd.  
  
"I can see that no matter how precious your little notebook is, you don't feel at liberty to disclose such information. But you don't have to... It must be him. Besides, he's the only man in this castle I can think of who would stoop to hire a little boy to nose around in my business. Did he tell you why he wanted information on me?"  
  
"No," Kidd admitted. "But I don't ask questions, as long as they pay the potch."  
  
"You should always know more about the situation than your employer. Otherwise, you could end up in a lot of trouble. However, one day I can see you becoming a fine spy," Nash admitted finally. "You have the perseverance and the courage. But you're still young and lack tact and stealth. If you're lucky, that will come with time.

"In the meantime," he added, "I don't ever want to see your face around here again, no matter how much that rich tin- head tries to pay you."  
  
"Can I have my notebook back?" Kidd asked, rather feebly.  
  
"Not a chance. Now get lost and stay out of my way, or I'll be handing this lovely book in to Arthur to publish its contents in his newspaper. There's enough hearts and doodles of Chris drawn in here to have the whole castle gossiping about you for months."  
  
Kidd stood, his mouth agape.  
  
"Out!"  
  
Defeated, the boy sprinted down the hallway and out of sight.  
  
Nash smiled in satisfaction, and pocketed the book in his green, damp jacket.  
  
The smile disappeared in an instant. He was still cold and damp, and now because of the time he'd wasted fighting off this kid, he did not have time to change. He'd have to go down now the way he was and hope he hadn't missed too much of the meeting!

------

As it was, the timing of his entry was perfect. He had approached the doors just as he heard them discussing what to do next, and he had walked in and saved them all with his valuable information about the Ceremonial Site. He revelled in the surprised looks from Chris and Sasarai.  
  
Caesar seemed very distrustful at first, but was convinced the moment Nash hinted that it had been the tactician's elder brother Albert, who had given him the information. After that, everyone began discussing battle plans, and the meeting was adjourned so that they could inform the rest of the castle about the plan.  
  
Everyone left except for Nash, Chris, and Sasarai.  
  
"Nash, you have no idea how unexpected it was for you to show up like this," Sasarai said, shaking his head. "You were in such bad shape when I left, I told the nurse not to let you get anymore involved with this. And it looks like you've been out in that thunderstorm last night! I can't believe you didn't collapse on the way over here. You should have stayed behind. Didn't the nurse tell you I was going to handle the rest myself?"  
  
"Yes, but if I had decided to stay behind, you would have no clue where to look for Luc next, would you? Besides, I always finish what I start, bishop. I made a commitment to the Fire Bringer, and I promised lady Chris that I would return."  
  
Nash glanced at Chris. At first she looked slightly surprised at his statement, but in the next moment her expression had hardened.  
  
Nash turned back to Sasarai and continued. "As for my health, I assure you, I'm perfectly fine."  
  
"Very well," Sasarai said with a pleased smile. "Then please meet me upstairs in about twenty minutes. Dios and I are going to go over the plans to move the Harmonian armies before raiding the ceremonial site, and I would value any advice you might have."  
  
"Thank you bishop, I will be there."  
  
Sasarai left, and Nash made to follow.  
  
"Nash?" Chris suddenly called.  
  
"Yes?" Nash replied with a smile. Chris' face was unreadable, as it often was, but Nash was sure she was going to thank him for going to the lengths he had gone for the Fire Bringer.  
  
"Can you wait for a moment? I'd like to have a word with you."  
  
"Of course."  
  
The two waited until Sasarai had closed the door behind him, leaving them alone in the room together.  
  
"Now," Nash began, turning to Chris with his sly smirk. "What is it you want to talk about? Our wedding plans, perhaps?"  
  
She promptly slapped him across the face. The slap was not effeminate by any stretch of the imagination. It was as sharp and painful as anyone would expect from a fully-fledged knight, and the force of it nearly sent him sideways into the door. Nash felt his eyes tear up in pain as his hand flew up to cover the burning area on his cheek.  
  
"I travel through the wind and rain to give you the whereabouts of the very man who's out to destroy a large portion of the world, and this is the thanks I get?!" he finally sputtered in astonishment.  
  
"You deserve far worse!"  
  
"I see we are not easily amused this morning," he said as he noted the rage in her tone.  
  
"This is not about your typically inane jokes!" she replied hotly.  
  
"Then please, enlighten me as to what this _is_ about!"  
  
Chris looked simply furious, her cheeks scarlet with rage. "I don't care how clever you think you are, you can't just parade in here, act like our savior by giving us your information, and then get away with all the trouble you've caused around here!"  
  
"What in the world are you talking about?" Nash asked, still rubbing his sore face.  
  
"I've heard nothing but bad reports about you ever since I got back yesterday!" Chris shouted.  
  
"What? From who?" Nash asked, but immediately regretted it. Something told him that he was in for a very long, heated reprimanding.  
  
"From who indeed!" Chris exclaimed. "Where do I start!? Cecile said you weren't there when she went to take over your shift, which means you left even after I told you not to-!"  
  
"What's the big deal Chris? It was six in the morning! I'm sure I read somewhere that monsters like to sleep in."  
  
"Don't interrupt me!" Chris bellowed. "Then I had to put up with Nadir moaning about how you deliberately ruined his big play!"  
  
"Believe me when I say that my version was better. Before I spiced it up, I had to shout my lines to hear myself over the snoring that was coming from the audience."  
  
"I said don't interrupt me! I've heard all sorts of stories about you sneaking about at all hours of the night, doing who knows what!"  
  
"I didn't realize I had a curfew," Nash replied sarcastically.  
  
"The newspaper seems to think that you're having an affair!"  
  
"Besides the fact that it's none of the newspaper's business, it isn't true."  
  
"Another article was about you prowling around at midnight with your wife in the kitchen, and it implied that there was some..." Chris' face flushed an even deeper shade of red as she continued, "...Unorthodox behaviour!"  
  
"I can't help what that blasted boy writes about me! Wait a minute... He promised me that my name wouldn't be mentioned in that article!"  
  
"It wasn't, but anyone with a brain would be able to figure out that it was you, with your notorious history!" Chris exclaimed. "I've also heard rumors that you're responsible for breaking the wing of someone's pet bird!"  
  
"It's MY pet bird! And it wasn't my fault! Well... Not entirely!"  
  
"_AND_," Chris continued, ignoring Nash, and the raising of her voice indicated that she was now about to address the worst of Nash's offences. "The night you showed up at my camp and _stole _Borus' horse, I spent hours upon hours looking for Borus and Percival, only to have them show up at Budehuc castle _four _days later, with this curious story that a teleportress named Viki had whisked them away to some strange limbo land and forced them to have a _picnic _with her– at _your _command!!!"  
  
Despite the fact that Chris was livid beyond anything he'd ever witnessed before, he could not suppress the urge to laugh. He let out a brief snicker, which he quickly turned into a rough cough.  
  
Chris was seething, staring at him as though daring him to explain himself. Nash said nothing.  
  
"Well?!" she exploded, finally.  
  
Nash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I can see you're greatly upset. All I can say is that I was just trying to do my job."  
  
"Your job was to help the Fire Bringer, not be an encumbrance to it!"  
  
"I'm afraid that something else had to take priority... Bishop Sasarai would not be here right now if it weren't for me," Nash pointed out.  
  
"I don't care! All I know is that you've been nothing but a hindrance to this faction and you've made me look like a fool!"  
  
"How have I made you look like a fool?" Nash asked.  
  
"Because I'm the reason you're here! I'm the one who let you stay here! I'm the fool who trusted you! I'm one of the leaders here, and people will have begun to question my judgement because of you! In fact, I'm beginning to question it myself..."  
  
"Chris..." Nash shook his head. "You're making this seem worse than it is. People may question me, but they don't question you or your judgement. You're a great leader and just because I've been associated with you throughout this doesn't mean my actions are your responsibility. Besides, there are worse recruitments around here than me, let me tell you that. Yes, I had another agenda before bishop Sasarai joined the fight. But I told you I'd be back, now I am, and the success of this army is now my priority."  
  
Chris stared at him long after he'd finished his explanation before she replied, and it was in a much quieter voice than before. "I can't kick you out because you're with bishop Sasarai. But I don't trust you, Nash. You should have told me the truth about what you had to do, and you shouldn't have been so inconsiderate to my knights and the other people here at the castle... You shouldn't have pretended to be my friend throughout all this so that you could manipulate my trust to 'do your job'..."  
  
Chris suddenly trailed off as though she'd said something she hadn't planned on saying, and Nash couldn't help but wonder if she hadn't just hit upon the actual cause behind all her fury. Now that he thought about it, she had made a bitter remark about him 'using' her back on the day when he had convinced her to let him stay.  
  
"Chris..." Nash said softly. "I wasn't pretending to be your friend..."  
  
"Weren't you?" her voice was unusually high. "Ever since I first ran into you in Iksay... Helping me out in that battle against the Lizard Clan. Helping me find my father. Comforting me when Yun died... It was all just so you could tag along with me and be led to the True Fire rune."  
  
"Chris, you aren't being fair!" Nash exclaimed in earnest. "I didn't have to tell you that I was a spy from Harmonia, but I did! And just because I needed you to find the Flame Champion doesn't mean I wasn't sincere with you."  
  
But Chris wasn't listening. "And then, when the Fire Bringer was established... You convinced me to let you stay, promised me you'd help out around the castle. Then you somehow found out about the True Water rune and my father, and consoled me about his death so that you could tell me you were leaving and I would let you come back."  
  
"That isn't true!"  
  
"You've done nothing but tell me lie after lie since I've met you, and I don't care what your reasons were, I'm not going to let you take my trust for granted anymore. I'm not some stupid woman, like the kind you're probably used to manipulating, who will swoon at your charms and forget the fact that you use her and lie to her."  
  
"Chris... I've lied about a lot of things, I'll credit you that, but I do respect you... and I truly regard you as a friend..." Nash replied, and for once he knew he was telling the truth. "Please, give me a chance here!"  
  
Chris shook her head, and spoke quietly. "You're a liar, Nash. And I've already given you far more chances than you're worth."  
  
She left the room, and Nash was shocked to find that the sting of her slap was nothing in comparison to the sting of her words.

* * *

A/N: Another chapter done. I tried a little harder to proofread this one... I went back and read the first few chapters, and I can't believe how many typos and errors I missed! Makes me cringe every time I see one! Hopefully, I'll have some time to fix them up.

I know it seems like the story is going by quick, but that's because in the game your characters are doing missions and stuff around the same time. Like while Chris is with Yumi in Kaput forest, Geddoe would already be heading for Le Buque, and shortly after Hugo would head for Brass Castle, so it makes the story seem longer. Anyway, there's only about two or three more chapters to come after this one before the story is finished. Thanks again for reading, I hope you're enjoying it!


	7. Neglected Health

Chapter Seven – Neglected Health

Nash stood there in the meeting room for several minutes after Chris left. He tried to convince himself that Chris' rage had been partially due to stress from the upcoming battles, but he couldn't lie to himself. Too bad really, since he could lie to everyone else.  
  
His head hanging slightly, Nash left the room, certain that he could not possibly feel any worse.  
  
He was wrong.  
  
Borus and Percival were standing a few feet from him. Before Nash could even consider sneaking away unseen, the two knights spotted him and their expressions immediately darkened with fury. They stormed over to his Borus looking particularly dangerous, with his teeth bared and eyes slightly bulging.  
  
Yes, Nash definitely felt worse now.  
  
"YOU!" Borus growled. "I wondered when YOU would show your sorry hide around here!"  
  
"If I thought I could get away with it, I would challenge you to a duel to the death," Percival added in a menacing voice.  
  
"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" Nash asked, acting completely oblivious to their fury.  
  
"Does banishing us to some weird limbo to eat lunch with some bimbo ring any bells?!" Borus demanded. Nash thought he could see smoke coming out the man's nostrils as he spoke.  
  
"That's quite clever, Borus. Limbo and bimbo. I bet you're quite a poet beneath all that tin."  
  
"Don't get smart with us," Percival threatened.  
  
"I don't see what the big issue is," Nash said calmly. "You were merely indulging a Budehuc resident in joining her for lunch. Besides, you two looked like you needed a break, a chance to relax."  
  
"Being force-fed pickled onions for four days in a row is not my idea of relaxing!" Borus retorted. "I hate onions!"  
  
"We've told Lady Chris exactly what happened, and she's not pleased with you in the least. It's likely she'll banish you from the castle, or better yet, throw you in the dungeon," Percival said coolly.  
  
"Well here's a newsflash for you," Nash replied. "Chris can't do either because I am with bishop Sasarai."  
  
"It's Lady Chris!" Borus corrected, jabbing Nash in the chest with his finger.  
  
"Then we'll go Bishop Sasarai and tell him what you've done," said Percival.  
  
"Go ahead, but I think you'll be dissapointed," Nash replied.  
  
The raven-haired knight narrowed his eyes at him. "We shall see."  
  
"In the meantime, blondie," Nash began, turning back to Borus, "I have my own bone to pick with you. It seems you've got yourself a little friend."  
  
"What?" asked Borus in bewilderment.  
  
Nash produced Kidd's notebook. "The boy confessed. You've been paying him to dig up the dirt on me. Problem is, he didn't do a very good job. He stuck his nose into my business one too many times, and now I have his book full of secrets on everyone in the castle."  
  
"Borus, is this true?" Percival asked, turning to Borus in astonishment. "You hired a _kid_ to snoop around for you?!"  
  
"Of course it isn't true! I don't know what he's talking about!" Borus exclaimed, but his expression betrayed the horror he must have felt when he saw Kidd's notebook in Nash's hand.  
  
Nash read from the notebook. "'Commissioned by B.R.', it says. Now tell me, how many people in this castle have the initials B.R.?"  
  
"How should I know!?"  
  
"And of those chosen few with the exalted initials, B.R., how many of them would give a damn about me and what I do?"  
  
"I have no idea! Why would I, for that matter!?" Borus asked. He wasn't a very good liar. He avoided Nash's eye and his face was no longer red with rage. In fact it was slightly pale.  
  
Nash smirked at the question. "Because you wanted to find a reason to get rid of me. You figured a shady character like me is bound to have a dirty secret that's bad enough to send me into exile."  
  
"And as repulsive as you are, why would I waste my time to do something like that?"  
  
"Because you didn't want me getting any closer to Chris."  
  
There was a long moment of tense silence. Borus and Percival looked at him in bewilderment. Nash was surprised himself for having said it as plainly as that.  
  
Finally, the color came back to Borus face and he said in a low, threatening voice, "You have no proof of that!"  
  
"I think it's pretty obvious," Nash replied. "You're jealous of anyone and everyone who talks to Chris more than you. But just because you're hopelessly in love with her isn't my problem."  
  
"How dare you! There's no truth in it!"  
  
"I think there's plenty of truth. After all, who wouldn't be in love with someone like Chris? Even Kidd is in love with her. You should see all the doodles he has of her in here. Actually, I'm starting to wonder if you didn't draw any of them," Nash commented, flipping through the notebook's pages, "Some of these look too good to be a kid's drawing."  
  
Nash looked up from the notebook just in time to see Borus' ironclad fist soaring into his face. 

------

"Nash, what happened?! Your nose is bleeding!"  
  
Dios and Sasarai's eyes widened as Nash entered their room.  
  
"Really... I hadn't noticed..." Nash had his thick scarf stuffed up his nose in an attempt to stem the blood gushing from his nostrils. His damp hair was now thoroughly askew, and his right eye was severely bruised.  
  
Borus had only punched him once, but it had been enough to knock him flat on his back. Percival had to drag Borus away before he could finish him off. Nash was thankful for Percival's unexpected mercy. Perhaps he was too much in shock about what he had learned about his comrade.  
  
Regardless, Nash now felt worse than ever. He practically crawled over to the table where Dios and Sasarai were sitting, and slumped down in a chair.  
  
"It looks as though you've been in a fight!" Sasarai said.  
  
"I have."  
  
"With who!?"  
  
"Just a couple of Budehuc's tenants."  
  
"What? But why?"  
  
"Who knows."  
  
"You should."  
  
"All I know is that I lost."  
  
"That's evident."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Sasarai turned to his assistant. "Dios, take Nash down to the infirmary."  
  
"No." Nash stood from the table in protest.  
  
"Nash, you're a complete mess. You need to see a doctor."  
  
"I thought you wanted me to help you with the battle plans for the Harmonian armies?"  
  
Sasarai shook his head. "Even at the time, it was against my better judgment to ask you up here. You're not well, you should have never left Harmonia. Especially having sustained those wounds, I'm surprised you could even crawl up the stairs."  
  
Dios took Nash by the arm and tried to guide him to the door. "The Bishop is right, you're in no shape to be working right now."  
  
"I'm fine," Nash insisted, breaking away from Dios.  
  
Sasarai gave him a long, strange look. Finally he sighed in resignation. "Suit yourself."  
  
Damn that Sierra.  
  
How dare she. He could see them from afar. Sierra was whispering fiercely in Chris' ear, and they kept looking his way. He couldn't hear them but he knew Sierra was telling Chris horrible things about him. Chris was nodding.  
  
Nash tried to run towards them, to stop Chris from believing the vampire's cruel words, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time.  
  
"Chris! Don't believe Sierra, she's lying!"  
  
Chris turned around, her face a mask of disgust and disbelief. "You expect me to believe that? I think you're the one who's lying."  
  
Sierra sneered at him, and the two women began walking away.  
  
"Nash?"  
  
Nash snorted. "I'm not lying."  
  
Sasarai blinked at him. "No one said you were. I simply asked if you thought the Harmonian units should be alongside the Zexen units."  
  
Nash straightened in his chair. He must have nodded off while Sasarai was talking. Time for some fast talking.  
  
"I don't think so," Nash said quickly. "You didn't let me finish. I was going to say that I'm not lying when I say that Zexen is entirely capable of handling their units without Harmonia backing them up. We can be more useful if we move our units separately. We can close in on the enemy that way."  
  
Dios nodded, apparently unaware that Nash had been dozing. "That's a good plan if you think it will work. Sasarai?"  
  
Sasarai was giving Nash that strange look again. Finally he turned back to Dios. "Yes, I suppose the Zexen knights can manage on their own."  
  
The bishop continued talking. Nash soon tuned out, amazed by how Sasarai's monotone voice could sound so very much like a lullaby. The desk he was sitting at was also beginning to look remarkably like a bed...  
  
Koroku, Koichi, Connie, Kosanji, and Kogoro were all chasing him. They were all playing tug-of-war with his scarf. Nash ran towards them, yelling at them.  
  
"Stop! I've had that scarf for years!" Nash grabbed part of the scarf and joined in the dogs' game.  
  
Finally he shook the five dogs off of the scarf and tried to wrap the tattered cloth back around his neck and shoulders.  
  
Then he looked down in horror. All five dogs were surrounding him with their legs lifted...  
  
"Nash!"  
  
"Don't pee on me, you mongrels!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
Nash lifted his head off of the table. Sasarai was standing beside him, staring down at him. Actually, Nash thought, 'staring down' wasn't quite the right term, as the bishop was barely eyelevel with him while he was sitting. The look Sasarai was giving him, however, made Nash feel very inferior indeed.  
  
Nash turned his head and looked up to see Sasarai's assistant on his other side. Dios did look down on him in the literal sense, but Nash truly wished he wouldn't. He could see all his nose hairs.  
  
"Erm... What I meant was..." Nash was actually at a loss for words... He could think pretty quickly on his feet, but the sentence he had woken up saying hadn't left him much to work with.  
  
"Enough, Nash," Sasarai said sternly.  
  
"I'm okay now, really-"  
  
"You've fallen asleep at least twice in the past half hour," Sasarai interrupted. "And when you are awake, you're not paying attention, and you have this sickeningly glazed over look in your eyes.  
  
"You didn't take the time to recover in Harmonia. You go gallivanting around in a storm in the middle of the night. You get into a brawl with some unknown enemy. By the looks of things, you haven't even been sleeping."  
  
It was true enough. Nash had only slept involuntarily for a couple hours the day before, and had spent the majority of the night traveling in the storm.  
  
"It's a wonder you're not dead, Nash!"  
  
"Really Bishop, I-."  
  
"You've been seriously neglecting your health. Dios will escort you to the infirmary."  
  
"Bishop-"  
  
"Go. That's an order." Now that Sasarai was exercising his authority, Nash had little choice.  
  
"Very well," Nash replied, "but I can get down there myself."  
  
He left before Sasarai could object.

------

Nash decided right away that he was not going to the infirmary.  
  
He himself could not identify the reason. Was he being stubborn? Was it because he enjoyed punishing himself? Was it because he refused to believe his health could be failing him because of his age, a little wind magic, a rainstorm, a brawl, and no sleep? Was he going through some sort of premature midlife crisis? Was it because he hated Tuta's hat?  
  
He descended the stairs to the front hall, and from the position of the sun coming through the window, Nash figured it was mid-afternoon. He released a sigh, wondering why he had forced himself to sit through Sasarai's monotonous battle plans in the first place.  
  
He heard a gasp, and turned to see Yumi.  
  
"Nash! You look simply awful!"  
  
"Good to see you again too," Nash replied with a weak smirk.  
  
"What happened to you?"  
  
"Long, long, long story. What about you, why are you back here? Not another sleepwalking escapade, I hope."  
  
Yumi smiled. "Of course not. The Alma Kinan clan came to help Chris with the battle at Brass Castle yesterday. We have decided to join the fight against Luc."  
  
"Ah, that's right. I had forgotten."  
  
"Do you need to go to the infirmary?" the concerned girl asked, frowning at his black eye.  
  
"No, no, I'm fine."  
  
"Are you sure? You also look very tired."  
  
"I just need a couple of stiff drinks. I was just heading to the tavern."  
  
"Oh, I was on my way there too! I'm going to watch Nadir's new play. It's a matinee, because tonight everyone will be getting an early night's sleep for the battle tomorrow."  
  
"Well, how about we go together? I don't mind watching Nadir's plays as long as I'm not in them."  
  
Yumi laughed, and the two of them left for the tavern.

------

"The Boy Who Cried Wolf". It had to be "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".  
  
Nash's heart sank when the title of the play was announced, and by the end of it, he was slumped in his chair, feeling uncharacteristically ashamed.  
  
The play had such a simple message, but Nash felt as though the deities above had been speaking directly to him when Jacques so masterfully said his last line, "...Lying is bad."  
  
The curtain closed and Yumi clapped, apparently having thoroughly enjoyed the play. She stopped abruptly when she saw Nash's face.  
  
"What's the matter, Nash?"  
  
"Yumi... Do you know where Chris is?"  
  
"Lady Chris? No, I don't. I think she's been talking battle strategy with her knights all day. Why do you ask?"  
  
"I need to explain something to her... I need to apologize..."  
  
"Apologize?"  
  
"Yes. I have given her reason to distrust me, and I regret that more than words can say. And miss Yumi, I am not a person who regrets much."  
  
"You must care about her a good deal then," replied Yumi, matter-of-factly.  
  
Nash smirked slightly and stared into his empty glass. "No doubt about it."  
  
For a brief moment, Nash was concerned that Yumi would bring up his 'wife', but she did not. Somehow, he knew she wasn't even thinking it. He could tell that she was a very nonjudgmental person, and it put Nash at ease.  
  
"Perhaps you need to tell her this then," she said.  
  
Nash nodded. "She will hate me until I do. On second thought, she might hate me even more..."  
  
"Lady Chris does not hate you," Yumi said immediately.  
  
"No? Well she certainly gave a good impression of someone who hates me this morning."  
  
Yumi shook her head. "I don't know what happened this morning, but I do know that she must hold you in very high regard."  
  
"What makes you say that?" Nash asked incredulously.  
  
Yumi hesitated slightly before responding. "Well, when lady Chris and Sir Borus were ambushed by the sorceress, Sarah, they came to my village for help. We immediately assembled our clan and went back to Brass Castle, fearing that it may be Luc's next target.  
  
"On the way there, Chris spoke of you. Said that when last she saw you, you were traveling on your own, and she 'hoped you had the sense to keep yourself out of trouble.' She sounded genuinely concerned."  
  
Nash was genuinely surprised to hear that Chris had mentioned him to anyone. He smirked a bit.  
  
"Was Borus there when she said this?"  
  
"Yes, he was."  
  
"I would have loved to see the look on his face right then."  
  
"He didn't seem very pleased," Yumi admitted. "I found it quite odd. He said, 'you needn't waste your concern on a ruffian like him, milady.' I couldn't believe he said that. Sir Borus has always been such a gentlemen, I can't imagine why he'd say something like that."  
  
Nash smirked even more. "I'm sure he has his reasons."  
  
"Lady Chris then told him not to be so judgmental, and that although you are a little 'rough around the edges', you deserve to be respected."  
  
Nash smiled for a moment as Yumi spoke.  
  
"Thank you so much, miss Yumi. I am glad you told me this." He gave her a roguish wink.  
  
However, as he stood from the table, he felt the familiar stab of pain in his chest, and his head swam for a moment as he fought off the nausea.  
  
"Nash? Are you alright?" Yumi asked, looking seriously concerned.  
  
Nash nodded, but left the tavern without a word. The truth was, he felt like he was about to be sick. When he got into the hallway, he leaned against the wall for a minute until the feeling subsided. He definitely wasn't well. But he had to find Chris now, because tomorrow was the battle and he probably wouldn't have a chance to speak to her. It had to be tonight.

------

By the time Nash finally found Chris, the sky's horizon showed only faint streaks of orange in the purple-black sky that were reminiscent of the daylight, and a few stars were visible. She was by the fence at the castle's ranch, fondling the ears of her white mare, which occasionally bent its head lazily to the ground to graze.  
  
Chris did not see him approaching, and he decided to speak before she sensed his presence.  
  
"Beautiful evening sky, nearly as beautiful as the lady admiring it."  
  
Her body stiffened at his voice, but she did not turn around. She gazed up at the sky in stony silence as Nash reached her side by the fence.  
  
"Only you would dare to say something like that at a time like this," she eventually muttered.  
  
He shrugged. "Just being honest."  
  
"I highly doubt that."  
  
Nash sighed. "I can see you are still upset about this morning."  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"Just to talk."  
  
"I'm not in the mood to talk."  
  
"Understandable. How about I do the talking then?"  
  
"Let me make myself more clear. I'm not in the mood for you, Nash. I'm very tired."  
  
"Also understandable."  
  
Nash leaned against the fence, feeling that Chris' tiredness could be nothing in comparison to his. There was a moment of silence.  
  
"Chris," Nash said finally. "I want to tell you something, but I'm not sure you want to hear it."  
  
"You're right, I don't."  
  
"You're not going to make this easy, are you?"  
  
"Why should I? You've never made things easy for me."  
  
"Fair enough. I'm up to the challenge."  
  
"You ARE the challenge."  
  
"Chris... I want to explain everything. I want to tell you everything that's happened, the whole truth."  
  
Chris' eyebrows rose in surprise. She turned towards him and looked up into his steady gaze.  
  
Nash's mind suddenly went blank. He felt very hot.  
  
"Nash... Are you... feeling alright?" she asked suddenly. She stepped closer to him, finally noticing the bruises on his face. "What happened?" She was unable to keep the concern out of her voice as she spoke.  
  
"Nevermind that, this is more important."  
  
"What happened?" she asked again, in a more demanding tone.  
  
"Remember when you slapped me this morning and told me I deserved much worse?"  
  
"...Yes."  
  
"Well, I received much worse. Just not from you."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
However, Nash did not reply, for he was finding it harder and harder to keep his balance, even as he leaned on the fence for support.  
  
And then he could no longer stand. He fell forward, and Chris instinctively caught him. She eased him onto the ground and brushed the hair out of his eyes, feeling his forehead.  
  
"Nash, your face is burning up!"  
  
"I don't see any flames," he said weakly.  
  
"You think this is funny? You're seriously ill!"  
  
"I'm sure it's nothing you couldn't kiss better."  
  
Chris stared down at him angrily. "If you weren't half passed out right now I'd-"  
  
"Slap me again?" Nash finished for her.  
  
"She slapped you? I like her already." It was Sierra's voice.  
  
Nash tried to turn his head to see where she was, but his vision was becoming darker and fuzzier with every passing moment.  
  
"Who are you?" he heard Chris ask, suddenly sounding far away.  
  
"Nevermind that right now, let's get this fool onto your horse and take him to the Infirmary," replied Sierra distantly.  
  
Nash was barely aware of the two women pushing him onto Chris' mare. A growing dread rose within him, and the last thing on his mind before he blacked out, was the nightmare he had earlier that day of Sierra driving Chris away from him.  
  
Who knows what the vampire would tell the Zexen knight.

* * *

A/N: I finally got this up. I may have to edit this some more later. This chapter was very hard to get right for some reason. I had to rewrite a whole section because the dialogue became entirely too un-Nash-like. I know Borus seems stereotypically mean in this fic, but on the surface Borus is a somewhat short-tempered person, and it's quite obvious that he's never liked Nash, so I think it's warranted. Nash was about due for a punch in the face anyway. heh heh. 


	8. Angel's Kiss

Chapter Eight – Angel's Kiss  
  
It was hot. Vibrant colors appeared to flash around him. His injuries from Luc and Borus ached dully. He couldn't think or see clearly, and he vaguely wondered what was happening to him.  
  
Suddenly, there was a bright pale blue light. It was so bright, it silhouetted the figure before him.  
  
He squinted, trying to make out the figure. Slowly he began to make out the features of an ethereally beautiful woman.

An angel?  
  
He must be dying. Now he'd done it.

This was his angel of death. He just knew it. He could tell from those beautiful, compassionate yet simultaneously distant, blue eyes. They seemed familiar. Perhaps the face of death is familiar to those about to die. He tried squinting past her to catch a glimpse of her wings, but she leaned in close to him, and her face was blocking most of his vision.  
  
The angel's beautiful face moved close to his. He lay very still, watching through half-open eyes, wondering what she was planning on doing. It almost seemed as though she were going to kiss him. Not that he was about to complain if she was.  
  
Sure enough, her lips eventually brushed against his cheek, which were oddly cooling to his warm skin. They remained there for what seemed to be a long time. A few loose strands of the angel's silver hair fell forward and tickled his face.  
  
This must be the angel's kiss of death.  
  
However, Nash smiled weakly at the sensation. This certainly wasn't as bad as he thought dying would be.  
  
The cooling sensation from the angel's lips started to spread, and soon his aches subsided. His entire body felt pleasantly cool, as though he were basking in the lake on a hot summer's day.  
  
Now he was feeling pleasantly drowsy.  
  
But as he was falling asleep, he caught a second glimpse of the angel's blue eyes as she withdrew from him, and he was again perturbed at how familiar they were. His mind was hazy and he could not quite make the connection until she stood up and he saw that the angel was fully clad in iron armor.  
  
Blue eyes. Silver hair. Iron Armor.  
  
...Chris?

------

Nash groggily sat up, finding himself in the bed of Budehuc's Infirmary. The room was bright with the light of the midday sun shinning through the windows.  
  
Memories of the previous night came flooding back to him. He was going to apologize to Chris, but never got a chance to... He had passed out.  
  
How manly.  
  
And Sierra! She had shown up in such an untimely manner. He prayed that Chris had not asked her too many questions.  
  
"You really are an incurable fool."  
  
Nash swiveled his head to see Sierra sitting on a chair at the table on the other side of the room. She held Dominguez Junior in her arms.  
  
"Not you again," Nash groaned, flopping back down on the bed.  
  
"You almost died," she said matter-of-factly.  
  
"I know, the angel of death visited me."  
  
"No angel would ever come for you."  
  
Nash did not reply to her jab. He had just remembered the angel that kissed him had actually been Chris. But that was ridiculous. He couldn't think of a single action that would be more un-Chris-like. It must have just been a fever-induced dream.  
  
"Was...Chris here earlier?" he asked anyway, staring at the ceiling.  
  
"I highly doubt it," Sierra replied with a sniff. "She was very busy getting the knights together this morning, and Tuta and Mio told everyone to let you sleep, because you still had a fever."  
  
"You didn't talk to her, did you?"  
  
"Who?  
  
"Chris."  
  
"What? Of course I talked to her."  
  
Nash sat back up, looking at her carefully. "But I mean, did she ask you any questions?"  
  
Sierra raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Nevermind..." Nash sighed. Sierra wasn't going to tell him anything anyway.  
  
Sierra stood up and walked over to him. "Aren't you even going to ask how your bird is?"  
  
"Do I really need to? He's probably dead."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean!?"  
  
"Only that pretty much every living thing you touch doesn't survive."  
  
Sierra thrust the bird into Nash's arms. "For your information, he's just fine! I heard Tuta telling Mio that he'd be able to fly again soon. He'd been sitting in my lap for the past hour, probably dreading the moment his abusive owner would awaken!"  
  
Nash smirked down at the bird looking curiously up at him. "You traitor," he said to it. He pat the bird's feathers, and was pleased to see his wing was mostly healed.  
  
Nash put the bird aside and threw off the covers. His shirt had been removed, but the wounds from Luc's magic had completely disappeared. He looked in the mirror. The bruise over his eye looked much better, even though he had just acquired it the day before.  
  
"I feel pretty good, for the first time in days," Nash said, turning to Sierra with a grin.  
  
"That is curious... Tuta and Mio are good at what they do, but they didn't seem to think you would awaken this early... They said that you would probably be out for a few days. Regardless, if you had gone to them to start with, you would have been better a long time ago."  
  
"So they've gone?" Nash asked, ignoring the latter part of Sierra's comment. "To the Ceremonial Site?"  
  
Sierra nodded. "If you were actually looking after yourself and doing your job properly, you would know what's going on once in a while. I'd say you've been unconscious for about half the war."  
  
"At least I'm being productive when I can," Nash retorted. "All you've been doing is getting in my way and nagging in my ear like the Old Hag that you are."  
  
"How dare you!"  
  
"Relax and go suck the blood of some helpless animal or something. I have work to do," Nash began looking around for his things.  
  
"Do you really? Well you'll get no help from me this time!" she said angrily.  
  
Nash smirked irritatingly. "I don't need your help. I'm going to the Ceremonial Site. By the time I get there, the Fire Bringer will have penetrated the outer defenses. Then the real fight will begin. I must go help Chris." He put on his belt and sheathed his knife.  
  
"It's always Chris this, Chris that, with you these days," Sierra replied. "I hope you realize she's much too good for you. Too much sense."  
  
Nash stopped and smirked at her. "Why Sierra! You're actually jealous!"  
  
"Don't flatter yourself," she spat. "You're nothing but a mortal, overconfident, bastard."  
  
"Ah, but you want me, nevertheless."  
  
Sierra was incensed. "Of all the arrogant, foolish... A spineless bug is too good for you!"  
  
"That doesn't say much for you then, does it?"  
  
It looked as though Sierra was using a great deal of self-control to keep herself from murdering Nash in cold blood right then and there.  
  
"I have known thousands of people in my lifetime, but I have never hated anyone as much as I hate you," she hissed abrasively.  
  
"I'm honored," Nash replied with a nonchalance that infuriated Sierra even more. "Are you staying here?"  
  
"As apposed to what? Going with you? Forget it!"  
  
"Good, you can look after Dominguez Junior."  
  
"I have better things to do than to look after your neglected pets."  
  
"Fine."  
  
Sierra picked Nash's shirt that was hanging on the back of a chair, and whipped it at him. "Spare my sight and put your shirt on. You physique is hardly what it used to be."  
  
Nash caught the shirt and tugged it on. He put on his coat and scarf, made sure he had all his possessions on him, and then headed for the door. He paused in the doorway.  
  
"You know Sierra, I believe that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."  
  
"Just get out!"

------

Nash did not reach the Ceremonial Site until the next day. He had been right in assuming that the Fire Bringer would have gotten through Luc's exterior forces, for it was all too quiet outside the ruin.  
  
He entered to find Apple along with many Zexen, Karayan, and Harmonian soldiers guarding the place.  
  
Nash approached her, who looked at him in slight surprise.  
  
"You're Apple, correct?"  
  
She nodded. "And you're Nash. What are you doing here? The troops are either resting up or infiltrating the ruin's interior."  
  
"I'm here to help... Have they caught Luc yet?"  
  
"No, not yet. Hugo, Chris, Geddoe, and Sasarai split up, each taking a party to recover their true runes. Chris and Geddoe came back with theirs, and then went to assist Hugo, it seems."  
  
"Which way did they go?"  
  
"The middle path upstairs, but Nash, I must insist that it's highly dangerous to go there by yourself."  
  
But Nash was already heading up the stairs, and gave Apple a reassuring wink. "Don't worry, 'highly dangerous' is my profession."

------

Perhaps he _was_ overconfident.  
  
Nash considered this as he dodged the giant fist of a stone monster in the ruin's narrow hallway. He panted for breath as he tried in vain to damage the monster with his knife. It had very little effect.  
  
This was the eighth one of these fiends he had encountered, and it was wearing him out. Shamefully, he'd had to run away from every one of them. This one was not likely to be the exception.  
  
Sprinting faster than he ever thought possible at his age, he dodged the monster's swinging fist one last time before escaping around a corner in the hallway.  
  
It was times like these that he missed the Grosser Fluss, a powerful but dangerous weapon he had mastered in his youth. So what if he couldn't tell friend from foe when he yielded it's full power? At least he'd have a chance for survival in a place like this!  
  
After what seemed like hours, he finally made his way to the end of the passage, where he found, to his surprise, Chris, her knights, Hugo, Geddoe, his mercenaries, and Caesar, conversing in front of a large open entrance.  
  
Chris turned her head and spotted him. "Nash!?"  
  
The others stopped talking and turned at to look at Nash.  
  
Nash smirked and bowed his head slightly. "At your service."  
  
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be recovering at Budehuc!" she exclaimed in astonishment.  
  
"Can't keep a good spy down, I'm afraid," Nash replied, trying not to appear too out of breath. "Where's Luc?"  
  
Geddoe pointed at the open entrance. "We think he's in there," the mercenary said. "We're forming the party who will go right now."  
  
"Everyone's got their True Rune back then?" Nash asked.  
  
Hugo, the new Flame Champion, approached him, shaking his head. "Not everyone... Have you seen Bishop Sasarai? Everyone else has returned but him."  
  
"No, I didn't see him back there at all..." Nash replied, feeling slightly concerned. "I suspect he must still be retrieving the True Earth rune."  
  
"We think he may have run into some trouble back there," said Caesar. "Apple told me he took only Dios with him."  
  
"He's no good with a sword," Nash remarked, crossing his arms. "This isn't good. Sasarai has powerful magic, even without his true rune, but in a place like this... I better go find him."  
  
"Are you sure you're well enough for that?" Chris asked. Her forehead was creased with apprehension, and there was not a trace of anger from their previous encounter upon her face.  
  
Nash smiled genuinely at her concern. "I got here, didn't I? I'll manage just fine."  
  
"It's a miracle you did make it here, facing those monsters alone is suicide," replied Caesar, shaking his head.  
  
"I don't want you to go by yourself," Chris said firmly.  
  
"Please allow me to accompany him, lady Chris," a voice from the back of the crowd said.  
  
Nash looked up in astonishment to see Borus walking towards him.  
  
"Borus?" Chris asked, equally surprised.  
  
The blond knight nodded. "Caesar has already established that I will not be fighting Luc alongside of you, milady, and I wish to help any way I can."  
  
Borus met Nash's eyes, but to his further surprise, the knight's expression did not contain the slightest trace of malice.  
  
"Thank you, Borus," Chris said. "Together, I'm confident you'll be okay."  
  
We must hurry," Caesar said suddenly. "Luc isn't going to wait around if we want to stop him."  
  
"Can I just have a quick word with Chris?" Nash asked.  
  
"There's not much time," Caesar replied.  
  
"I assure you, it will be fast," Chris said, to Nash's surprise.  
  
The two of them stepped off to the side.  
  
"What is it?" Chris asked in a low voice as soon as they were out of earshot.  
  
At that moment, Nash wanted nothing more than to tell Chris the truth about everything, like he had intended to the night before. However, he knew from the impatient glances from the others that he did not have the time. He then remembered his fever-induced dream.  
  
"Did you kiss me in the infirmary early this morning?" he heard himself asking.  
  
"W-What?" she gasped, clearly not having expected him to pull her aside to ask such a question.  
  
"On the cheek."  
  
"Nash, there isn't time for this – this nonsense!"  
  
"Just answer the question, please."  
  
"No!"  
  
"'No' you won't answer the question, or 'no' you didn't kiss me."  
  
"Both!"  
  
"Both? You can't say no to both. As soon as you say no to the question, you've answered it."  
  
"You're wasting time!"  
  
He could see she was getting quite flustered. "You did, didn't you?"  
  
"I did nothing of the kind!" she exclaimed, though she avoided his eye.  
  
He continued to press her. "Are you sure?"   
  
"Nash, you had a fever, your face was hot enough to start a fire. You must have been hallucinating," Chris said hurriedly, still using a low voice so that the others couldn't hear.  
  
"Perhaps." Nash could have pursued the fact that, at the moment, her cheeks also looked hot enough to start a fire, but he knew he was running out of time, and so changed the topic.  
  
"Be careful with Luc. You have to live through this so that we can finish our talk from last night," he said.  
  
"Nash, I'm not sure I'll even see you after this."  
  
Nash paused, considering this. "That's right, you're not really the type to stick around for the celebration party, are you?"  
  
"No, but neither are you."  
  
There was a moment of silence that was interrupted by an impatient cough from Caesar.  
  
Nash finally attempted a grin. "Good luck. Don't die."  
  
Chris shook her head, turned from him, and paused. "Good luck to you as well, Nash."  
  
Nash watched as she walked away, following Hugo, Geddoe, and Caesar through the entrance to where Luc was waiting for them. 

* * *

A/N: I've been agonizing over this chapter for the longest time... It seems that the nearer I get to the end, the harder it gets to write. I feel that I might need to change this chapter, but I'm fairly certain I won't have to. Anyway, This story will be coming to end in a couple of chapters. I hope you have been enjoying it! Thanks again for everyone's continual reviewing and encouragement! 


	9. The Point of Saying Goodbye

A/N: My apologies for this update taking so long. This chapter has been done for ages, but I was having problems getting into quickedit and my computer wasn't working properly, so that's the reason for the delay!

* * *

Chapter Nine – The Point of Saying Goodbye

Nash and Borus walked side by side through the ruin's hallway. The battles had still been tough, but the Harmonian had to admit that Borus was handy to have along. They had finally reached an empty stretch of hallway, with no monsters in sight.

So far, the two of them had traveled in complete silence, and the lack of malevolence in Borus' behavior had caused that silence to be intolerably awkward.

He knew he had to say something sooner or later.

"Are you worried about Chris?" He immediately regretted saying it, as Chris tended to be a touchy topic with the blond knight; Nash's swollen eye was proof of this.

However, Borus did not react harshly. "I cannot help but worry about my captain, but if anyone can stop Luc, she can," he said simply.

"I couldn't agree more."

Silence fell between them again, the only sound being their footsteps echoing through the stone hallway.

"Why are you helping me?" Nash asked suddenly.

Borus kept looking ahead, scanning the hallway for monsters. "Lady Chris did not want you to travel alone."

"But why volunteer? Chris would have most likely assigned one of her other knights to accompany me," Nash pointed out.

Borus' eyes dropped to the floor as they walked, and he seemed to hesitate before speaking. "I wanted to talk to you."

Nash raised an eyebrow. "You could have fooled me. You have barely said a word since you said you'd come with me."

Borus said nothing, and Nash was about to give up, when Borus came to a complete halt.

Nash turned to him. "What is it?"

"I want to apologize," the knight said, expressionless.

"What?"

"I'm... sorry. For punching you." Each word appeared to cost Borus a great deal of effort, as his tone seemed strained.

Nash was taken aback by the apology. Finally he shook his head. "I thought you hated me."

"I do. Make no mistake about that."

"Good, because I still don't like you either."

Borus narrowed his eyes at him. "I only apologize because even though you deserved it, I lost my temper and attacked you in a dishonorable fashion."

"You knights and your honor."

"Do you accept my apology, or not?" the knight asked irritably.

"If you call that an apology."

Nash caught the twitch in Borus' eye, and decided not to aggravate the situation any further.

"I accept. I suppose I'll need the good Karma," he said, thinking of how he wished for Chris' forgiveness.

"Good," said Borus.

They began to walk again. The silence returned.

"For what it's worth," Nash said, after several minutes, "I thought those drawings of Chris were quite good."

From the expression on Borus' face, Nash would later marvel at the fact that he did not end up with a second black eye.

------

It was a long time before they finally reached the end of the hall, back to the main entrance, where Apple and the other soldiers were standing guard.

Just as they arrived, there was an ominous rumbling noise. As though suddenly seized by an earthquake, the ruins began to shake, pieces of rock crumbling around them.

"What happening!?" Borus exclaimed.

"I don't know, but I don't think we can expect this place to stay standing much longer!" Nash exclaimed, as he ran down the crumbling steps.

Borus did not follow, he was looking back the passage from where they came.

"Borus, come on!" Nash called up at him.

"Lady Chris is still in there!"

Nash fought the wave of panic at this realization. For a brief moment, he considered going back to get her, but he knew that Chris' survival did not depend on him. Sasarai, on the other hand, might be lost and seriously injured somewhere, and Nash knew that finding him had to take priority.

"She'll be fine!" Nash called, trying to convince Borus as well as himself.

"I have to go help her!" Borus, blindly loyal though he was, had not been able to come to the same conclusion.

"Borus, there's no time to go all the way back, and you'll die if you go in there alone! Besides, you told Chris you'd help me find Bishop Sasarai. He's still missing down the other passage!" Nash ran back up the stairs to Borus.

"But..."

Nash grabbed his shoulder as Borus took a step towards the passage. "You know you won't make it through all the monsters by yourself in the crumbling hallways, Borus! Chris doesn't want you to die needlessly."

Borus looked back at Nash.

"She's going to make it out," the Harmonian stated firmly, and this time he actually believed what he was saying.

The moments that followed seem to last a long time, but finally Borus nodded curtly, and he followed Nash back down the stairs.

They rushed down the hallway leading to the True Earth rune. About halfway down the hallway, they saw them.

Sasarai had his arm around Dios while his assistant tried to hold him steady. The bishop looked injured, and several skeletal-looking monsters cornered them.

"There they are!" Borus shouted.

"Nash!" Dios called, obvious relief on his features.

"Hold on, we're getting you out of here!" Nash called.

"I'll distract the enemy, you get those two out," said Borus.

Nash gave a nod, and Borus rushed forward, drawing his sword and mercilessly attacking the monsters.

Nash ran past them and made it over to Dios and Sasarai.

"Are you alright, bishop?" he asked immediately. "What happened?"

"We ran into Luc, and the bishop lost in a duel with him," Dios replied. "I was trying to get him out but the ruins started crumbling and all these monsters appeared."

"I thought you were ill, in the infirmary," Sasarai said weakly.

Nash shrugged. "I was, but an angel swooped down and kissed me better."

Dios and Sasarai both gave him strange looks.

Nash smirked at their expressions. "Nevermind, lets get out of here."

Sasarai nodded. "Thank you, Nash."

Nash lifted Sasarai's other arm and put it around his shoulders. With Sasarai now being held up on either side, Dios and Nash began walking him past the monsters, who had become distracted by Borus' relentless attacks. It was difficult, as the hallway was narrow and the unsteady ground kept shaking and crumbling around them.

Finally the three of them made it back to the entrance where the other soldiers were running around, evacuating people.

Nash removed Sasarai's arm from around his shoulder and stepped back to the hallway.

"Get the bishop out of here."

"Where are you going?" Sasarai asked him.

Nash sighed. "I have to go back and get Borus, before he kills himself with his heroics."

"There may not be time for that..." Dios said doubtfully, looking around at the crumbling ceiling.

But when he looked back, Nash had already run back down the dark hallway.

Nash found Borus leaning with his back against the wall, his sword hanging limply in his hand, and he was heaving for breath while a line of blood trickled from his mouth. There were only a few monsters left that hadn't been crushed by the crumbling structure, but the knight appeared to be too tired to finish them off.

Nash fired his projectile weapon at the skeletal monsters, and they stumbled back. He ran to Borus, who seemed genuinely surprised to see him.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting you out of here."

"Get out before it's too late."

"Are you determined to die, or something?" Nash asked incredulously. "Chris wouldn't want you to give up you life without trying."

"Why do you even care?"

"Because, I don't want to have to tell Chris that one of her most loyal knights died because I didn't bother going back for him." Here Nash shot at a few more monsters.

"You really believed it, when you said she's going to make it out," Borus stated abruptly.

"Of course I do. Is that why you've given up, because you don't think Chris is going to make it? Such a defeatist attitude. You should know your captain better than that." Nash shook his head before continuing. "Now, I'm taking you with me, sanctimonious attitude and all."

Borus grunted his resentment, but did not resist when Nash slung Borus' arm around his shoulder and started helping him towards the exit.

"The least you could do is thank me for helping you out," Nash said, quickly and carefully moving them through the crumbling passageway.

Borus grumbled.

"Ruffian..."

------

Nash slowed his pace to a stop, taking in the vast scenery of the Yaza plains. The grass blew gently around him, and the sun had begun to sink beyond the horizon. It was beautiful, although for some reason he was sure none would ever compare to the one he'd witnessed in Iksay.

He was traveling on his own again, heading towards the east. As soon as he had gotten Borus out of the crumbling ruin, he had left without a word. His job was done there, and for some reason he couldn't bring himself to wait for Chris' return. He had not yet identified the reason why, but perhaps that was because he hadn't allowed himself to think of it.

After all, isn't that how his missions usually ended? With him vanishing without saying goodbye as soon as the battle is over, leaving to travel alone?

"Haven't you forgotten something?"

It would appear that he wasn't completely alone.

Nash turned around. Not too far from him stood Sierra, holding Dominguez Junior in her arms.

"You again? What are you doing here?"

Sierra held out her arm, Dominguez perched comfortably on it. "You forgot this forsaken fowl. Were you going to leave without him?"

"I didn't forget him," Nash shrugged. "He would find me on his own, eventually. He always does."

"You could have at least checked to see if he was better," Sierra replied.

She gave a slight wave of her hand, and Dominguez Junior flapped his wings and took off into the air, soaring around the two of them, and finally landing on Nash's shoulder.

He grinned, reaching up to pet Dominguez Junior's feathers. "I thought you said you had better things to do than to look after my bird."

Sierra hesitated, but only for a fraction of a second. "I do, but the wretched thing kept following me around. I didn't have much of a choice."

Nash raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"So, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Nash turned back to the sunset. "Just admiring a sunset before I go."

"So you're leaving. The Fire Bringer has won the battle, I take it."

"The Ceremonial Site has been destroyed, and the world is still in one piece, so I would say so, yes."

"What happened to Luc?"

"I don't know. I didn't stick around to find out."

"What about Chris?"

Nash paused. "I have no doubts that she survived."

"You just left without saying goodbye? That was rather foolish." Sierra stated, shaking her head.

Nash turned around to look at her. "That ironic, coming from you."

Sierra lifted her chin with self-importance. "I'm a vampire, it's my way."

"Well, it's my way as well."

"It shouldn't be."

"Says you," Nash replied. Deciding it was time to change the topic, he added, "What do you want?"

"Nothing, I just came back to give you your ruddy bird."

"Are you also leaving, or will you continue skulking about Budehuc?"

"I'm leaving."

"Where?"

She sighed impatiently. "Somewhere far away from you. I'm going to take a long, Nash-free holiday."

Nash smirked. "Those usually last around fifteen years. I don't suppose I'll see you after that, will I?"

The vampire shook her head. "Not if I'm lucky."

Nash laughed, which was much to Sierra's surprise.

"What are you laughing at, you fool?"

"You never change," he replied.

"Unfortunately, nor do you."

Nash smirked, but said nothing.

"Well, I'm out of here," Sierra said finally. "I can't say it's been a pleasure to work with you again."

"Likewise."

Sierra turned to leave, and Nash called out to her.

"Sierra?"

She turned back, slightly taken aback, as he rarely addressed her by name, especially in such a sincere, sarcasm-free tone. "What?"

He paused. "Goodbye."

He expected some kind of abrasive remark, but the vampire just shook her head. If he had known any better, he would have even thought he'd seen a slight smile on her features.

"Goodbye, Nash."

Nash once again gazed upon the sunset, knowing Sierra wouldn't be there if he were to turn back. To his astonishment, he felt a distinctive twinge of sadness.

Goodbyes always did that to him, he supposed. Even with the Old Hag.

Eventually, his thoughts turned back to Chris. That's probably why he hadn't stuck around for her return. For some reason, he felt that saying goodbye to her might be too difficult.

He found himself looking a little more towards the south. He knew she would have already left Budehuc Castle with her knights, and that they would be returning to Brass Castle.

He never did get a chance to apologize and explain everything to her. If he had given the Old Hag a goodbye, surely Chris deserved one as well. Yes, goodbyes were painful but the sorrow felt during them is what makes the other know that they will be missed.

And isn't that the point of saying goodbye?

* * *

A/N: I really felt I had to include some more interaction with Borus so that the poor man had a chance to redeem himself. After all, Nash really can be a jerk. (But I love it!) Anyway, this also helps redeem Nash as well, and it shows that even though he's a bit on the seedy side, he generally does what's right in the end. Or something like that... 

Originally, I was going to end this fic here, but I simply couldn't resist writing another chapter about Chris and Nash's last meeting. I may still change my mind about posting it, but if not, it should be up in a bit! As always, my thanks and appreciation to all readers and reviews.


	10. Untangled

Chapter Ten – Untangled  
  
"And that's everything...The whole truth; the good, and the bad. Perhaps all these details seem irrelevant now, but I believe I owed you the explanation.  
  
"You've got to give me some credit, though, when I say it is not easy being a spy. As you've just heard, there's a lot you have to deal with. Disparaging Newspapers. Nosey detectives. Overenthusiastic play directors. Broken bird wings. Thunderstorms. Old Hags. Neglected health. Bad dreams. Slightly premature midlife crises'... The list goes on...  
  
"However, the hardest is when you truly come to care about someone a great deal, and that person distrusts you. That's tough. The worst part of that for me, was that you had every reason to doubt me. I guess you were right when you said I've always been a liar. I would like to say that spies always end up becoming chronic liars, but it probably isn't true. Even before I became a spy, the lies came all too easily.  
  
"But if there was ever anyone who I wished I had never lied to, if there was anyone who I wished never had a reason to distrust me, it was you.  
  
"So that's one of the reasons why I came, to tell you all that. I felt it was the only way I could untangle myself from the massive web of lies I told..."  
  
Nash trailed off into silence. He was leaning in the doorway of Chris' bedroom in Brass Castle. For the past couple hours, he had been recounting his experiences to Chris, who was leaning her back against the window at the other side of her room. She had been listening quietly for the entire time he spoke, and Nash was grateful.  
  
However, now that he was finished, he wasn't quite sure how she was going to react. He lifted his eyes to meet hers, but her expression was unreadable. For a long moment, Nash feared she wasn't going to say anything at all.  
  
However, just as Nash was thinking of leaving, she finally spoke. "Why did you start your story when the Fire Bringer first formed? Why not when we first met in Iksay?"  
  
The question greatly surprised Nash, who had expected any response but that. It took him a second to think of the reason.  
  
"I believe that's when the tension really began between us," he said finally, and when Chris looked disbelievingly over her shoulder at him, he quickly continued. "That is, there was always tension, but that was because you hated me at the beginning... It was when I began caring about you, when it really became tough."  
  
This did not remove the incredulity on Chris' features, though even in the shadows of the moonlit room, Nash could see a slight blush creep upon her countenance. "What?"  
  
Nash smiled slightly. "I probably started caring quite early on, mind you, but I don't believe I realized it fully until the Fire Bringer formed... Because then you were back to being a captain, and I rather missed traveling with you."  
  
"You... really mean that..." she stated quietly.  
  
"Every word of it," he confirmed.  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
Something then occurred to Nash. "You know, you don't seem very surprised about everything I told you, save for the fact that I actually care about your well-being."  
  
Chris shrugged. "Most of it I already knew."  
  
"What of the part about my 'missus'?"  
  
"That too."  
  
"I'd be very interested to know how."  
  
"Your friend Sierra. After she appeared to help me take you to the Infirmary, we talked a bit while Tuta was looking after you," she said, rather hesitantly, her back still to him.  
  
"Why would she tell you that?"  
  
Chris paused. "I... I thought maybe she was your missus. I asked her if she was, and she laughed."  
  
"Laughed?"  
  
"She said there was no way she'd marry a supercilious fool like you, and she said she was surprised I could believe a woman would be capable of surviving a marriage to you. Her exact words."  
  
"That Hag!"  
  
"I rather liked her," Chris replied.  
  
Nash sighed. "I suppose that doesn't greatly surprise me."  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
"...So, would it be too bold of me to ask if I will be forgiven?" he asked finally.  
  
"I already did, quite a while ago," she replied, almost casually.  
  
Nash paused. "...You did?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"...Why?"  
  
"Did you not want me to?" she asked testily, her eyes not meeting his.  
  
"No, it's not that," Nash said hastily, "But if you knew I was lying about my missus, you could have easily used that as confirmation that I lie about everything. So, why did you?"  
  
Chris hesitated slightly. "There were many reasons... When you got sick a couple days before the final battle, I realized how hard you really had been working for us... and then after all the things Sasarai said you'd been through, I thought maybe I had been a little harsh with you..."

"A little!?" Nash blurted out.

She glared at him briefly before continuing. "Then I spoke with Yumi and she... told me about how you wanted to apologize and explain everything to me, and she told me what you said about truly regretting that you had been deceitful. That's what really led me to believe you were being sincere. So I forgave you."  
  
"You never did answer my question, before," he said suddenly.  
  
"What question?" she asked, taken aback by the abrupt change in subject.  
  
"Did you come and see me in the Infirmary that one morning? Tell me the truth."  
  
Chris hesitated for several moments, but finally responded. "Yes... Tuta asked me to try use my True Water rune on you, to hurry your recovery along. It worked better than I expected."  
  
"That explains the blue light, and the cool, refreshing feeling," Nash commented. He paused and added, "...But why did you kiss me?"  
  
Chris looked stunned. "I-I didn't."  
  
"You're lovely, even when you lie."  
  
"I'm not lying! Why would I do such a thing?"  
  
"Well I must admit, I can't help but think that it was something very uncharacteristic of you to do. However, I don't think there's any denying that we all sometimes do things differently, when we believe no one is looking." Nash winked.  
  
Chris was now looking very flustered, and turned towards the window with her back to him.  
  
"I'm not saying I didn't like it," Nash added, "I just want to know why."  
  
Chris said nothing for a long time, and finally released a sigh. "If you must pursue this _absurd_ issue... It was my forgiveness and my apology for being so harsh before."  
  
"Why did you avoid telling me that at the Ceremonial Site?"  
  
"I...I didn't expect you to remember, your fever was so high. Even if you did, I didn't think that I'd see you again," Chris replied, with a slight sigh.  
  
"It was a kiss goodbye, was it?  
  
"Don't be so dramatic about everything!"  
  
Nash grinned. "My apologies."  
  
"Stop smirking."  
  
"How do you know I'm smirking, you're not looking at me."  
  
"I just know. Now drop it. I took pity on you when you were sick, and I sincerely regret it."  
  
"Okay, okay!" Nash said, then after a moment, decided to switch back to the first topic. "So if you forgave me before hand, why didn't you tell me? You could have spared yourself my big long story had you told me you'd forgiven upfront."  
  
"Perhaps. But I was interested in what you had to say for yourself."  
  
"Ah, I see."  
  
She said nothing, and there was silence again.  
  
"Nash?" she asked after a moment.  
  
"I haven't gone anywhere. If you would turn around and look at me once and a while, you would know that."  
  
Chris ignored him, and continued with her question. "You said that telling me all that was 'one of the reasons' you came. There was another?"  
  
Nash straightened up from leaning against the doorway, and took a few steps towards her.  
  
"There was. I also wanted to say goodbye, as I will be leaving these parts."  
  
"I see... Is that all?" she asked, after a moment.  
  
Nash rose an eyebrow at the question. "Why, should there be something else?."  
  
"You tell me."

"Tell you what?"

Chris finally turned around to glare at him. "If there is something else."

Nash met her glare with a smirk. "Okay. There is."

"Well then, what is it?" she asked, slightly exasperated.  
  
He paused before replying. "I'm going to miss you, Chris. I'm going to miss you terribly."  
  
"Stop it."  
  
"Hey, you asked!"  
  
"Fine," she said, turning away from him again. "Goodbye then, Nash."  
  
Nash stared at her back for a long moment, but she would not turn to meet his gaze.  
  
Eventually, he turned to leave. He had almost made it to the doorway of the bedroom before Chris called him again.  
  
"Nash?"  
  
He stopped, and turned back to her. "Yes, I'm still here, though you almost missed me that time."  
  
She finally turned to him. "For the love of Sadie, be quiet!"  
  
"My apologies once again, it's just that your face is much more pleasant to talk to than your back." he grinned. "What is it?"  
  
Chris stiffened slightly, and held her head up as though it was a struggle with her dignity to speak her mind.  
  
"I wanted to say that... I shall miss you also," she replied, a serious look on her face.  
  
Nash smiled genuinely, and stepped in close to her.  
  
She stiffened even more, looking slightly affronted, clearly afraid he was about to mock her. "What are you grinning about?"  
  
Instead of immediately replying, Nash grasped her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace, a gesture that truly startled the young knight. However, she did not attempt to withdraw, and Nash slid his arms around her shoulders and back, holding her tightly against him. Eventually, Chris returned the embrace, and they stood that way for a long time.  
  
"Thank you, Chris," he said at last, his voice quiet in her ear. "That really does mean a lot."

* * *

A/N: It was incredibly hard for me to do this, but I decided to end the story on a somewhat platonic view of their relationship. That is, I didn't have them kiss and run off to get married, like I would have normally preferred. Why? Because I'm crazy. All I ever wanted was for Chris and Nash to run away together at the end of the game. And here they are in this fic, no infidelity in sight due to the twist I gave on his 'missus', and yet I end the story without them fulfilling the destiny that Konami so cruelly denied them.  
  
In actuality, there were many reasons I ended it this way. The first is that I already wrote a romantic one-shot fic about the encounter so casually mentioned in the game's ending. I vowed that in writing this fic, I wouldn't end it with the 'Nash appearing in Chris' room to announce that he is leaving' scene, unless I could do so without it being a rehash of Parting On Good Terms. So in that way, I think I was relatively successful.  
  
Secondly, as a person who is obsessed with these two characters and their interactions with each other throughout the game, I thought it important to write from different views on their relationship. 'A Little Bit of Trust' is the only remotely platonic fic I wrote about them. The rest are severely slanted towards romance. This one has some romantic elements, but ultimately things remain platonic.  
  
Thirdly, I felt there just simply wasn't enough interaction between them in this fic for a plausibly romantic scene at the end. The fic is a 'behind the scene' story centered around Nash, and Chris, while a central theme in Nash's mind, was a secondary character. In fact, Sierra probably had more dialogue than she did  
  
Lastly, I guess I felt I had to keep relatively canon. Ending it this way makes it much more plausible.  
  
Anyway, naturally my story isn't perfect (I know there'll undoubtedly be a few of you raising an eyebrow at Chris' disputably out of character behaviour in this chapter), but overall I am quite happy with the story, (my second, completed, multi-chaptered fic) and I want to thank every one of you who has read and reviewed my fic, for all your input and encouragement! Thank you! 


End file.
